Grimms' Fairy Tales study guide

Hans

Hans is the homeward traveler in Hans in Luck who repeatedly exchanges the wages he has earned. His delight at losing his final possession suggests that good fortune can mean freedom from ownership rather than greater wealth.

Key parts: 2

Jorindel

Jorindel seeks to rescue his beloved after the fairy's spell turns her into a captive nightingale. His search, completed through a flower that breaks the spell, shows love expressed through persistent action.

Key parts: 3

Sultan

Sultan is an aging dog who gains security at home through a staged rescue. When his helper demands a reward that challenges his loyalty, his position shows the tension between gratitude for help and faithfulness to his master.

Key parts: 5

Rapunzel

Rapunzel is the child a couple loses because of a stolen herb, and her story moves through captivity and secret romance. Punishment separates the lovers, but their healing reunion suggests that suffering does not have the final word.

Key parts: 16

Gretel

Gretel faces abandonment and a hungry witch alongside her sibling Hansel, but she recognizes the witch's intention and feigns confusion. Their escape and return to their father with treasure show vulnerable children turning danger into survival.

Key parts: 19

Snowdrop

Snowdrop is a hunted girl who receives shelter from seven dwarfs while the queen pursues her out of envy. Disguises and poisoned gifts threaten that refuge, showing that apparent kindness can conceal danger.

Key parts: 31

Lily

Lily's marriage to an enchanted husband begins with a promised rose and leads to separation. Her long search, aided by gifts from the sky, shows loyalty as a commitment sustained through travel and uncertainty.

Key parts: 46

Kindness repaid

These exchanges suggest that kindness creates relationships whose value becomes clear when individual strength is not enough.

Where it shows: parts 36, 38, 50

Deception and survival

Deception can help endangered children escape, but it can also let a cook avoid responsibility for a missing supper. The bride's use of physical proof against her murderous suitor shows another response to falsehood, making hidden wrongdoing visible rather than answering it with another trick.

Where it shows: parts 19, 23, 26

Wealth and satisfaction

Hans welcomes having nothing, while Ilsabill's pursuit of greater power ends by taking away the couple's gains. Beside the dangerous bargains surrounding spun gold and a child, these contrasting outcomes suggest that material advancement offers neither a reliable measure of happiness nor a guarantee of security.

Where it shows: parts 2, 10, 25

Hidden identity

The hidden prince, Cat-Skin, and the enchanted bear all possess identities that their outward circumstances conceal.

Where it shows: parts 60, 61, 62

Golden slipper

The golden slipper works as evidence of Ashputtel's identity after her appearance at the royal feast. It suggests that a small, tangible object can establish what appearances alone leave uncertain.

Part 35

Tears

Rapunzel's tears work as a healing force when they restore her lover's sight.

Part 16

Hans, Part 2. Hans celebrates his luck during a journey that strips away his possessions. His confidence suggests that satisfaction depends on how he understands his circumstances, not simply on what he owns.

king, Part 12. The king reminds the princess of her promise as she reluctantly accepts the frog's company. His insistence shows an obligation that remains binding when fulfilling it becomes unwelcome.

The bride, Part 23. The bride produces physical evidence at the wedding feast to expose her murderous suitor. The moment shows how a threatened person can turn hidden knowledge into a public accusation.

wife, Part 39. Her proposal shows gratitude becoming action, as the couple answers the help they receive with clothes for their helpers.