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The book begins with two evocative images, one taken from the Old Testament and one from a children’s fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel – both images highlight significant and contrasting aspects of sibling relationships. In Genesis 4:9 when God asks Cain where his brother Abel is, he answers: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ a question that conveys a deep-felt resentment for the assumption that he should be responsible for his brother. An ominous question follows; this time it is God the Father, menacingly asking Cain: ‘What have you done to your brother?’ and then comes the curse, ‘you will be a restless wanderer on the earth’. We are here in the realm of sibling rivalry, in a maelstrom of emotions, which, at times, can feel murderous and, like a curse, can often last for a lifetime.
On the other hand, with Hansel and Gretel, we are in a totally different landscape: brother and sister help each other to survive not only the wicked witch but also wicked parents who made a calculated decision to sacrifice the children by abandoning them in the forest, so that they, the parents, could avoid starvation. This is a story of love and
cooperation between a brother and a sister, their care for one another sharpens their wits and, ultimately, enables them to live. As the editors of the book highlight in the Introduction, this is a collaboration that encourages the individuality of each sibling. Hansel and Gretel do go home together but, when they have to cross a stretch of water, the last hurdle before safety, they have to do so one at a time, not together.
The contrasting relationships of these two sets of siblings, as illustrated in the Introduction, contain the seeds of some of the thoughts that will be pursued throughout the book. The striking differences between siblings – something so often observed in our clinical work and indeed in our lives – are analysed from different angles: from a developmental point of view (Chapter Four), from an attachment stance (Chapter Five), or