When I looked back at the notes I had taken for this episode, the first thing I had written was "Nazi Germany." I don't think I really need to go into detail on that specifically... but the theme of hunting, imprisoning, and executing is very poignant in this episode.
On another subject... I wanted to point out the story of "The Gingerbread Man." When we read the word "Gingerbread" we assumed that the story involved Hansel and Gretel and the gingerbread house (which it obviously did) but what about "Run, run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!" To me, it seems as though the parents are viewing their own children as ignorant, rude little gingerbread boys and girls, who don't appreciate anything that their parents have done for them, so the parents act as the wolf that tricks the gingerbread man. The relationship between parents and children is obviously super emphasized in this episode because in real life, parents have to be the disciplinarian and the protector, but in this episode, they lose the roll of protector (or transfer their "protection" to a demon instead of their children) and only discipline their offspring.
There are also a lot of really interesting parallels that can be drawn between "Gingerbread" and "The Turn of the Screw"... but I think I'll save them for "Normal Again."
I think the parallel you draw here about parents and the gingerbread man is most applicable to the relationship Willow has with her mother. In the scene where Willow is shouting at her about sacrificing goats and doing evil biddings of sorcerers, it comes off as an extremely obnoxious child crying out for attention (which is exactly what it is). The funny thing about this parallel is that rather than little cookie children, these are people with power (two witches and a slayer). Though Buffy and Willow need the help of Giles and Cordelia to escape the fire, Amy really does show how they can't catch her, because she is something supernatural (like a talking cookie?) and has the power to rise above humans. But then, you know, she's a rat for a few years, but that's just minor details...
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A quick note about your reference to Nazi Germany that I noticed no one mentioned in class was that the pyre that the three persecuted "witches" rested upon was composed of books, a clear reference to the Fascist regime. A minor point I wanted to make with regards to this episode as a whole is that it exposes the human need for a scapegoat in situations of immense tragedy. Unable to accept the blame themselves for the problems of the world, human beings have the unfortunate tendency to blame others for their plight. This is something that I feel needs to be addressed more often in our world if we are to ever accept that the nature of humans needs to change and evolve, and to do this we should look to each other for aid rather than looking for someone to blame.
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