Fairytales: Fairy Tale and Existential Predicaments

A parent will never know what goes on in the mind of their child, all a parent can do is shield the child from the negatives of life and hope negativity never enters their mind. Author Bruno Bettelheim wrote The Uses of Enchantment, published in 1976, the book contains an essay called “Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament,” in which Bettelheim presents a psychological perspective of the impact that traditional fairy tales have on children. Bettelheim begins his essay with personal knowledge, rhetorical appeals (pathos and, logos) and textual evidence. In his essay, Bettelheim sets the stage by reaching out to to his audience, he writes “overcoming narcissistic disappointments, oedipal dilemmas, sibling rivalries; becoming able to relinquish

In fact, nearly all of the Grimm Brothers’ original fairy tales were meant to be for scholars but they turned into stories for children under the pressure of fame. The content of the original tales did not change but the wording did to make it more receivable by children (Degh 87). The fact that fairy tales were meant for those of higher intelligence shows that children should take them as educational. Parents should show children that gaining fame, money, or love in such a short amount of time nearly never happens and that life is not as easy as it seems in the fairy tales. Many wanted their children to never be exposed to the negative aspects of life that the Grimm Brothers displayed. However, the attitudes of many regarding their work has changed drastically over the years (Degh 82). Parents have seen that shielding their children from the realities of the world can have a negative effect on their lives and possibly the lives of others.

The fairy tale helps the child to understand a balance between the good and the evil; it gives him a hope for a good future.” Fairy tales assure the

In the essay “Fairy Tales and Modern Stories”, Bruno Bettelheim argues that fairy tales can provide children more reassurance than realistic stories. Bettelheim used examples like “The Little Engine that Could”,”The Swiss Family Robinson” and “Rapunzel” to show how realistic stories and fairy tales both affected children’s thinking. The author claims that modern stories don’t compare to fairy tales, because they can’t provide an outlet for children to work through their problems and emotions. Bettelheim explains that fairy tales give children the reassurance and hope that there's a better future that is waiting for them. He argues that fairy tales can have a more impactful effect because it can offer “escape” and “consolation” for troublesome events in their lives. He even claims that modern stories fail to give the reader “encouraging

Fairy Tales are not just stories that parents tell to their children, but stories with hidden valuable messages which are mostly left on a side. In the article “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” Maria Tatar clearly explains how people need fairy tales in their lives. Tatar also states how fairy tales have the ability to take the listener, especially children’s, into a journey in which they can play with their imagination so that they can discover their deepest fears and wishes. Personally I agree with the author, because of the fact that in an individual’s lives as they get older, they will try to define themselves, sometimes comparing their own life with a character from their favorite story or Fairy Tale.

Bettelheim describes how towards the end of the oedipal period the child usually wishes to replace the parents of the same gender. This leads the child to feel disorderly and worthless because of their squalid wish. Cinderella allows the child to feel they will eventually be rescued from these thoughts just as Cinderella was rescued in her fairytale. He explains how Cinderella gives the children confidence in themselves because of how well she relates to their

Little girl recalled how fairy tales showed her that if her attitude changes and stays positive that her chances of succeeding is higher. This teaches the little girl that she does not need anything else, but the conviction belief that she can accomplish this task. According to the Bettelheim, children use modern stories to escape reality and go into a fantasy world that gives them temporary relief. Since the story was not a fairytale, it left the girl off with no hope for getting better in the future. Not only do fairy tales help children develop, but it also gives them hope. Bettelheim demonstrates through another scenario how fairytale gave a little girl hope in sense of her difficult situation. The little girl used “Rapunzel” as a way to relate her situation with the main character. While reading she figures out that her “prince” in real life will eventually save her like it happened in the story, giving her hope to keep going according to Bettelheim. That story of hope was sustained until that little girl grew up and got married eventually not needing it anymore, but she was using it more as a safety blanket. She would only use the fairytale in time of need.

The tradition of telling fairy tales to children effects not only the listener but also the reader. Maria Tatar, in her book Off with Their Heads!, analyzes how fairy tales instill and reaffirm cultural values and expectations in their audience . Tatar proposes that fairy tales fall into three different tale-types: cautionary tales, exemplary stories, and reward- and- punishment tales. These three types portray different character traits as desirable and undesirable. Due to the tale’s varying literary methods it can change the effectiveness of the tale’s pedagogical value. In Tatar’s opinion, all of these tales are similar in the way they attempt to use punishment, reward, and fear to encourage or discourage certain behaviors. In the cautionary fairy tale “The Virgin Mary’s Child”, the use of punishment and fear to discourage certain behaviors is enhanced by the Christian motifs and values employed by the tale. These literary devices encourage the audience to reflect on and internalize the lessons that are presented in the fairy tale.

Unlike any other form of literature or entertainment, Fairy Tales help children to discover their identity and suggest experiences needed to develop their character. In Bruno Bettelheim’s “Life Divined from the Inside” Bettelheim states that “Fairy Tales intimate that a rewarding, good life is within one’s reach despite adversity-but only if one does not shy away from the hazardous struggles without which one can never achieve true identity (Bettelheim 106). Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella” is a perfect example of Bettelheim’s definition of a Fairy Tale.

There is nothing more precious and heartwarming than the innocence of a child. The majority of parents in society want to shield children from the bad in life which is appreciated. Within human nature exists desires of inappropriate behavior; envy, deceit, selfishness, revenge, violence, assault and murder. The most well-known fairy tales depict virtue and the evil in life. Even more important, the form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he can structure his daydreams and with them give a better direction to his life. (Bettelheim).

"Fairy tales have long created potent cocktails of beauty, horror, marvels, violence, and magic, drawing in audiences of all generations over the course of centuries" (Tatar 55) writes Maria Tatar in her essay "Why Fairy Tales Matter. " This innate power is probably the reason why, still today, fairy tales are as meaningful and effective as they were centuries ago, when the brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault first wrote them down. Thus, as fairy tales are powerful weapons to condition the minds of their readers, it is only natural that literary critics have decided to analyze them in great detail. For example, both Maria Tatar and Vanessa Joosen assert that fairy tales play a vital role that tales play in children's empowerment: the first one arguing that the language in traditional stories gifts children a newfound virtue, the second claiming that the tales' retelling are cardinal for the development of critical thinking.

Reading fairy tales or seeing them represented has become part of an everyday routine for children. As Baker-Sperry states, “Through interaction that occurs within everyday routines (Corsaro 1997), children are able to learn the rules of the social group in which they are a part” (Baker-Sperry 717-718). For example, through Red Riding Hood, children learn to listen to their parents and to be wary of strangers. Some of these messages are harmful though; not all girls have to be naive and weak while boys are predacious wolves. Not everyone has to play the role that society assigns them.

For centuries fairytales and folk stories have been created and told to entertain and to explain the mysterious world. Each story holds a clear message for its readers but it also underlines more subtle messages that teach readers. Fairytales are especially targeted at an audience of children as those stories are told by parents each night before bed. But some of the stories that have been told for a long time across many different cultures have effected peoples’ perspectives more than is realized. One of the most popular examples of a fairytale that has been influential in American culture is the classic tale of Cinderella. Though the details of the tale can vary with different authors and cultures, aspects of it have

As we grow up, we hear fairy tales and we read them into our lives. Every word and every image is imprinted into our minds. The fairy tales we read are never abandoned. They grow with us and our dreams become molds of the many morals and happily ever afters fairy tales display. We tell children fairy tales when they go to sleep and they read them in school and we even have them watch Disney adaptions that reinforce them further. Generally, they were everywhere while we grew up and they continue to be present while children are growing up now. But what influence do these stories have? We casually expose our children to these tales, but in some cases they can have particularly, harmful personal effects on them, although there is nothing completely or visibly “bad” about them or about the characters in them. Before we divulge our youth to these stories, we should assess their substance and see what sort of effect they may be having on them. They have received so much scrutiny and have been studied by many. Recognizing fairy tales effects on the minds of children is vital in their development. This paper will focus on the underlying messages that the average person wouldn’t recognize in these everyday stories. There’s a modern distort with fairy tales because while they still are widely popular with the youth, they influence children’s self images, outlooks on reality and expectations for their futures, especially for young women.

There are many fairy tales out there and they all focus in teaching many of the different life lessons. Honestly, I was never the fairy tale reading type just because I really did not read much as a child. There was a couple fairy tales I became familiar with because I have two younger siblings. They really enjoyed watching these two fairy tale’s movies, which were Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Since these are the only fairy tales that I can say I’m familiar with these will be the ones that I will be discussing further. In these fairy tales, there are two very important lessons to be learned. In Cinderella fairy tale, the lesson to be learned is that even when faced with the worst behavior from other people and the fact that you