The tale and the law: “Hänsel und Gretel” and the law on fallen wood theft

Abstract

This research aims at demonstrating the multiple aspects of a law through the analysis of different forms of stories, such as literary narratives and journalistic articles. The object of this analysis is the Theft of Fallen Wood Act and its impact in Germany in the 19^th century. One of the hypothesis is that there was strong criticism directed to the criminalization of this conduct (the gathering of fallen wood, which used to be recognized as legitimate) in the folk tale Hansel and Gretel. The research studies short stories as a literary narrative form , focusing on the work by W. Benjamin, and the tale Hansel und Gretel , by R. Darnton, based on the social history of childhood , by P. Ariès. It also analyses the law on fallen wood theft and its debates and reports by Marx in the Rheinische Zeitung. The research shows that the reactions and consequences of a law may be registered in many ways.