Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs is a modern-day retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” The original text follows the adventures of a young girl named Gerda on a mission to rescue her best friend, Kay, from the titular magical foe. Ursu refers to the novel’s central antagonist as the white witch, but she shares the Snow Queen’s regal beauty, frosty temperament, flying white sleigh, and frozen palace. The narrator implies that Ursu’s witch is an archetypal figure who inspired fairy tale writers throughout history, including Andersen and C. S. Lewis. The original fairy tale begins with the devil making an enchanted mirror that shows people only the negative side of things. Ursu retains the breaking of the enchanted mirror as the novel’s inciting incident. However, she makes the mirror’s creator, Mal, a goblin-like figure with “green-brown skin, a froglike mouth, and sharp little teeth” rather than the devil himself (69). This change is in keeping with the novel’s omission of the overt Christian symbols and messages found throughout Andersen’s fairy tale. In addition, both of the children are significantly rounder and complex in the novel. Gerda, the protagonist of “The Snow Queen,” is an unfailingly selfless and sweet young girl who embodies moral goodness, but Ursu allows Hazel to be fully human by giving her flaws, such as a reluctance to take responsibility. In addition, Jack has a rich inner life and wrestles with heavy problems, especially his mother’s depression, whereas Kay is largely limited to his narrative function as the object of Gerda’s rescue mission.

Some of the novel’s events directly parallel moments in the fairy tale while Ursu utilizes other familiar elements in original ways. For example, Kay loses interest in the flowers and books that he and Gerda used to love and leaves her behind to play in the snow with the other boys; similarly, Jack belittles Hazel’s interest in superheroes and abandons her for Tyler and Bobby. In both texts, the antagonist gives the boy puzzle pieces made of ice and promises to grant his wishes if he can spell the word “Eternity.” When Gerda and Kay reunite, the puzzle pieces arrange themselves into the correct formation, allowing the children to leave the witch’s palace. However, Ursu steers clear of easy answers and conventional happy endings. In her retelling, the “Eternity” puzzle remains unsolved, emphasizing that spending forever in a fantasy would be a curse rather than a blessing. The way that Hazel saves Jack also differs from how Gerda rescues Kay. In the fairy tale, Gerda sheds tears for the boy, and this outpouring of love thaws his frozen heart. In Ursu’s version, Jack’s memories and emotions return when Hazel returns the cherished baseball that he gave to her. Because the baseball symbolizes Jack’s heart, saving him entails reminding him of the love he’s shown, not just the love he receives. Ursu draws inspiration from Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” but adds modern twists and emotional depth to the classic fairy tale.