The psychoanalysis of fairy tales

Essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand a child's inner world, the great child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim offers us a brilliant exploration of the power and value of fairy tales.

After psychoanalysis demystified the innocence and simplicity of the child's world, fairy tales began to be read and discussed again precisely because they describe a world full of experiences and love, but also of destruction, savagery, and ambivalence. In *The Psychoanalysis of Fairy Tales *, acclaimed psychologist Bruno Bettelheim examines the most famous children's stories, showing how they play a fundamental role in shaping the psyche and understanding the world of boys and girls.

In this fundamental book, the author demonstrates that the magical language through which these narratives are constructed attracts the attention of children and, therefore, the stories more easily communicate ethical and moral issues, which help in the formation of basic values of community life.

Fairy tales' greatest contribution to early childhood education is emotional, by provoking and realizing fantasy, play, identification, and comfort. They develop children's powerful imagination. They provide necessary outlets for fear, anxiety, and hatred, whether to overcome rejection (as in "Hansel and Gretel"); to face Oedipal conflicts (as in "Snow White"); to cope with sibling rivalry (as in "Cinderella"); or to understand feelings of inferiority (as in "The Three Feathers"). Tales alleviate the pressures exerted by feelings that are still being acknowledged, foster emotional integrity, instill courage in children, and show them that it is always possible to find a positive outcome in life.

The psychoanalysis of fairy tales reveals the reasons, psychological motivations, emotional meanings, entertainment functions, and the symbolic language of the unconscious that underlie children's stories. It is an essential book for mothers, fathers, teachers, psychologists, psychoanalysts, pedagogues, and all those interested in better understanding children's inner worlds.