The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

Magda mostly rejects the Christianity practiced by villagers in Piaski and instead embraces the concept of the wheel. For the gypsy population from which Magda descends, the wheel is a symbol of life in its entirety. It continues on, turning between the ground and the sky, without stopping to accommodate human wishes or desires. Magda introduces Hansel and Gretel to the term the first time that she meets them. When Hansel asks Magda about good luck, she does not give him a straight answer. Instead, she tells him that “The wheel moves on and we move with it” (19). Although the children do not understand what she means, Magda continues to mention it in their presence. For instance, when Father Piotr wonders whether Hansel’s dyed hair will prevent others from recognizing him as Jewish, Magda says, “It will work, and if not, then the wheel will go on” (46). Though her belief in the wheel does not seem to bring Magda much comfort in life, she is reassured by what she finds when her own wheel stops turning: “Blue above, green below,” she says, “we wander a long way, but love is what the cup of our soul contains when we leave the world and the flesh” (297).