"Gretel"
A woman is born to this:
sift, measure, mix, roll thin.
She learns the dough until
it folds into her skin and there is
no difference. Much later
she tries to lose it. Makes bets
with herself and wins enough
to keep trying. One day she begins
that long walk in unfamiliar woods.
She means to lose everything
she is. She empties her dark pockets,
dropping enough crumbs
to feed all the men who have ever
touched her or wished.
When she reaches the clearing
she is almost transparent—
so thin
the old woman in the house seizes
only the brother. You know the rest:
She won’t escape that oven. She’ll eat
the crumbs meant for him, remember
something of his touch, reach
for the sifter and the cup.
—Andrea Hollander
Another fairy tale. I guess I don't remember this one either. The second part of the poem doesn't quite connect.
ReplyDeleteThe start connects. Being born into social identities. You have to be this because you're this or that.
From Wiki:
ReplyDelete""Hansel and Gretel" (also known as Hansel and Grettel, Hansel and Grethel, or Little Brother and Little Sister) (/ˈhænsəl/ or /ˈhɑːnsəl/ and /ˈɡrɛtəl/; German: Hänsel und Gretel[a] [ˈhɛnzl̩ ʊnt ˈɡʁeːtl̩]) is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children save their lives by outwitting her. "
In the stories, the two children leave the house because their stepmother threatens to take the children into the woods and leave them there to starve so that she and the husband can survive the famine. In this poem, Gretel takes the walk by herself. It doesn't sound like her brother comes with her, but then when she sees the witch the brother is there?
Feminism?
Sexual abuse?
In the end, it almost sounds like Gretel is the only survivor again. Did she decide to cook her "brother" and the witch? Her brother, the symbol of all men in her life? The father, too, who in the original story does not take action to save his children against the stepmother?
This was hard to follow, but interesting.
It makes more sense now that you remind me of the feminist. She can't escape the oven. It's a metaphor for her gender role. She is condemned to be a house wife. Critiquing both fairy tales and society.
ReplyDelete