Who is Gretel from The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and what is their importance?

Like the name Hans for men, Gretel was a common name for females appearing in fairy tales. Gretel appears in the tale "Hansel and Gretel", where she is a poor young girl who is abused by her stepmother. Although she is taken care of by her older brother, it is Gretel who saves the day at the end of the story when she shuts the witch in the oven. Gretel also appears in the story "Clever Gretel".