The Woodcutter's Wife (identified as the mother in the original edition and stepmother in the 4th to later editions) is the overarching antagonist in the fairytale of Hansel & Gretel.
Biography[]
Woodcutter's Wife is the wife of a woodcutter (second wife only in the 4th to later editions) and mother (original to third edition) or stepmother (4th to later editions) to Hansel and Gretel. She convinced the woodcutter to abandon his children because they had no money to feed them by badgering him until he agreed to her plan. Hansel and Gretel listened and once the Stepmother and the Woodcutter went to sleep, Hansel collected small white stones. The next day, the wife and the woodcutter went with Hansel (who was scattering stones on the way) and Gretel to the forest and abandoned them there, due to the stones, they found their way home unfortunately for the stepmother.
She planned to abandon them again once they begin to starve again but left the door locked overnight to prevent them from fetching stones again. The next morning, Hansel and Gretel are given bread. Hansel took a bite of bread and spread crumbs to find his way, but unfortunately for them, the birds ate the crumbs and then her plan was successful. She was no longer seen in the fairy tale, but she was mentioned by the woodcutter that she died of natural causes during the absence of Hansel and Gretel (in some versions, she was kicked out from the house or left willingly).
Trivia[]
- In some versions of the story, particularly those child-friendly, the Stepmother is replaced by the actual mother of Hansel and Gretel. However, rather than abandoning them cold-heartedly, she convinces the woodcutter, her husband, to leave their children near somewhere where someone wealthier can provide a better life for them. Once Hansel and Gretel kill The Witch and return home with her goods, the mother receives them back happily as her husband.
- In the first edition, she is the actual mother of the siblings with later editions changing her to the stepmother.
- Some readers have speculated that the Witch and the Stepmother are symbolically the same woman, due to dying at the same time and saying similar things.
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 Villains
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