Gretel in Darkness (1975)
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Analysis |
This is the world we wanted.
All who would have seen us dead are dead. I hear the witch's cry break in the moonlight through a sheet of sugar: God rewards. Her tongue shrivels into gas . . . Now, far from women's arms and memory of women, in our father's hut we sleep, are never hungry. Why do I not forget? My father bars the door, bars harm from this house, and it is years. No one remembers. Even you, my brother, summer afternoons you look at me as though you meant to leave, as though it never happened. But I killed for you. I see armed firs, the spires of that gleaming kiln-- Nights I turn to you to hold me but you are not there. Am I alone? Spies hiss in the stillness, Hansel, we are there still and it is real, real, that black forest and the fire in earnest. |
I chose this poem because I have an appreciation for stories about classic literature told from a unique point of view or unexplored perspective. I see 'Gretel in Darkness' as a manifestation of the concept of "magical transference". Magical Transference is a concept supporting the idea that magic, like energy, cannot be destroyed or created but merely changed. In this theory it is discussed that the reason many self proclaimed "witch-hunters" went crazy or were eventually called witches themselves, was because when they killed a witch, whatever true magical energy they possessed, then transferred to their killer. If they accepted this "magical energy", they would become witches and warlocks themselves. If the rejected it, they would be driven insane by the adverse effects of their "magical build-up". When a town, society, or group killed a witch, the magic dispersed, distributing to the people. Though it may take generations, or mere seconds, that magic would manifest itself as innovation or creativity. Gretel, being the soul aggressor, was faced with such a fate. The magic inside her was rejected, driving her to the edge of sanity, barely able to grasp reality. This story shows this poorly known lore in a well known forum. Seeing that is what makes me love this poem.
This poem relies heavily on imagery and religious allusion. We look upon the hut as "My father bars the door, bars harm." We hear the "witch's cry break in the moonlight through a sheet of sugar." Gretel also claims that "God rewards. Her tongue shrivels into gas..." This implies that her religious beliefs both justify her murdering of the witch and wake her from her nightmares. These devices emphasize the internal suffering of Gretel, showing the maddening darkness within her. The poem takes on a particularly betrayed tone during the third stanza. As Hansel grows up and forgets or rather comes to terms with their kidnapping, Gretel feels betrayed. She committed an unholy act in his name and he merely forgets her sacrifice? To have her own brother do that, it dealt Gretel her final blow. |