 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Ordinary and Special Breads: Eucharist and Temptation in Hansel and Gretel
Judith Lanzendorfer
Full-Text PDF
XML 724 Views
DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2018.07.003
University of Findlay, Ohio, USA
This article focuses on how Hansel and Gretel, collected by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm in Children’s and Household Tales (1812) should be seen as more than a folktale for small children; it can, instead, be read as a highly theological work related to the Calvinist view of the Eucharist and directed more to young adults and adults. The Grimm brothers, who were strict Calvinists, viewed the tales as being useful in instilling moral lessons to children. As such, Hansel and Gretel can be seen as highlighting the tension between Calvinist and Catholic perspectives on the Eucharist. It is important when teaching the text to consider this culturally relative context. Doing so helps to highlight the original didactic purpose for Children’s and Household Tales and how we can revisit and reclaim the moral initiative of the book in a modern context.
Grimm, Calvinist, Eucharist, folktale
Blecourt, W. (2008). On the origin of Hansel und Gretel. Fabula, 49(1-2), 30-46.
Dan, D. (1991). Beyond the gingerbread house: Addiction, recovery, and esoteric thought. Quadrant: Journal of the C. G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, 24(2), 41-55.
Papal Encyclicals Online. (1215). Cannon 1: Confession of Faith. Fourth Lateran Council. http://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm
Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (2014). Hansel and Gretel. In J. Zipes (Ed.), The complete first edition: The folk & fairy tales of the brothers Grimm (pp. 43-49). Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP.
Henneberg, S. (2010). Moms do badly but Grandmas do worse: The nexus of sexism and ageism in children’s classics. Journal of Aging Studies, 24(2), 125-134.
Hippolyte, J. (1991). Étude Comparee du “Petit Poucet” de “Hansel et Gretel” des Freres Grimm (Compared Study of the “Tom Thumb” of the “Hansel and Gretel” of Brother’s Grimm). Merveilles & Contes, 5(2), 390-402.
Mathison, K. (2006). Calvin’s doctrine of the lord’s supper. Ligonier ministries. http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/calvins-doctrine-lords-supper/
Murphy, G. R. (2000). The owl, the raven, and the dove: The religious meaning of the Grimms’ magic fairy tales. New York: Oxford UP.
New International Version Bible. (2013). New York: Zondervan.
Of the Lord’s supper. Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics. http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/index.html?body=/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_XXIX.html
Rudy, J., & Greenhill, P. (2014). Channeling wonder: Fairy tales on television. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.
Spohnholz, J. (2010). The tactics of toleration: A refugee community in the age of religious wars. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press.
The Heidelberg catechism. Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics. https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/heidelberg-catechism
The Holy supper. The book of concord: Confessions of the Lutheran church. http://bookofconcord.org/defense_8_holysupper.php
The proper celebration of mass: The matter of the most Holy Eucharist. Redemptionis sacramentum. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html
Turner, V. (1995). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. New York: Routlage.
Wittmann, G. (2011). When love shows itself as cruelty: The role of the fairy tale stepmother in the development of the underaged reader. Mousaion, 29(3), 1-11.
Zipes, J. (1977). On the use and abuse of folk and fairy tales with children. Telos, 32, 215-244.
Zipes, J. (1988). The brothers Grimm: From enchanted forests to the modern world. NewYork: Routledge.
Zipes, J. (1979-1980). Who’s afraid of the brothers Grimm: The socialization and politicization through fairy tales. The Lion and the Unicorn, 3(2), 4-41.