By: Fyn Potter
Intro
Research has shown that fairytales are tools that can be utilized to aid in different aspects of child psychological development. There are many reasons why parents cross culturally have used storytelling with their children: In a 2011 study where 470 parents of children ages 3-5 were asked questions about fairytales. When asked about what purpose do fairytales serve for their children: 66.4% of parents said that they used fairytales to model good behavior, 50% of parents said they used fairytales to manage bed time anxiety. 15% of couples said that they would restrict story time as a punishment. All couples (100%) agreed that there is an instructive purpose to fairytales. (Tsitsani et al. Fairy tales: A compass for children’s healthy development – a qualitative study in a Greek island). This study shows that clearly parents recognize fairytales as a tool for their children’s development. This raises the question: How are fairytales exactly helping in children’s development? Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990), a child psychologist, explores how fairytales help children better understand the world in his Book: “Uses of Enchantment”. He deconstructs fairy tale motifs and how they are applicable to common problems that children face and how they aid in helping a child develop a better understanding of their world. He takes inspiration from psychoanalysis to apply these motifs to children’s stages of development. In this paper, I have created three case studies based on Bettelheim’s research to show how his approach to fairytales could be used in psychoanalytic therapy. Fairytales are not only tools for children to understand their world better, in a clinical setting, fairytales can be utilized to help children struggling with complex interpersonal issues that they may not yet understand.
Bettelheim’s approach
Bettelheim as a child psychologist takes an interesting perspective on fairy tales. He applies psychoanalysis coined by Freud which primarily focuses on the development of a child’s personality to fairytales to highlight the importance of fairytales to children’s psychological development. Bettelheim’s approach is not merely a reiteration of Freud’s ideas, however. The application of concepts to fairytales and fairytale motifs is what made him a leader in the field of psychology. Bettelheim’s goal in the Uses of Enchantment is to help children and adults understand the meaning in their lives through fairytales (Bettelheim 4). He states that finding this meaning through fairytales has had profound clinical effects on the lives of his own patients “As an educator and therapist of severely disturbed children, my main task was to restore meaning to their lives. This work made it obvious to me that if children were reared so that life was meaningful to them, they would not need special help” (Bettelheim 4). He sees fairytales as the way that children can understand these deeper meanings in life that may be easy for adults to comprehend but due to the nature of development are confusing to children.
One of the ways in which children can find meaning in fairytales is through relatability. Since fairytales are told from a child’s perspective, addressing issues that are relatable to a child it is easy for the child to project themselves onto the story, “He can gain much better solace from a fairytale than he can from an effort to comfort him based on adult reasoning. A child trusts what the fairy story tells because its world views accord with his own” (Bettelheim 45). Fairy tales, unlike adults are easy for children to understand because they do not contain complex constructs that children do not yet understand. Bettelheim references Piaget, another leading psychologist in developmental psychology who states that children think animistically (Bettelheim 45). Animistic thinking is the application of human emotions and problems to inanimate objects “to the child, there is no clear line separating objects from living things; and whatever has life has life very much like our own,” (Bettelheim 46). Because children think this way, magic in fairy tales in the form of talking animals and magical objects makes perfect sense to them and is relatable in a way it would not be to an adult. This is a way in which the fairytale is catered towards the children’s point of view. Bettelheim’s idea that fairytale motifs can help children understand their complex struggles is a way that fairytales can be used to address major problems in children’s lives in clinical settings.
Though Bettelheim has made an important contribution to both the studies of folkloricism and psychology, his work is not without controversy. One of his criticisms surrounds his knowledge or lack thereof of folkloricism. In “the Uses Of Enchantment”, Bettelheim’s inability to consult a large range of previous sources on the genre leads him to make broad and incorrect statements about folklore (Dundes, 76). However, Bettelheim is a psychologist, not a folkloricist, his prominent and relevant findings surround psychology, which he does have extensive knowledge on. I would argue that this would be a larger problem if Bettelheim claimed himself as a folkloricist but since he is not I feel that this criticism is fair but does not discredit his contribution. It is also argued that Bettelheim did not consult the previous work of Géza Róheim, another psychologist at the time who previously wrote about wish fulfillment in Hansel and Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood. The two had extremely different interpretations of the tale (Dundes 76). However, I strongly disagree with this criticism. While it is important to consult the previous work of leading scholars in a field, as I am doing in this essay, it is also important for there to be different ideas in the same field of study. By reading another scholar’s interpretation, Bettelheim could have compromised his own interpretation and new ideas. I have always been taught to formulate my own interpretation of a story before consulting another’s analysis because once another scholar’s analysis is read it is much more difficult to differentiate their ideas from my own, which is why everything I have taken from Bettelheim centers around his interpretation of motifs and how they function rather than his thoughts on the tales as a whole.
Psychology is an incredibly broad field, it is influenced by findings in biology, chemistry, sociology, neuroscience, and more. Some psychologists take an approach influenced by chemistry, others develop their ideas through sociology, and many take a wide range of influence from all of these things, to argue that a psychologist must look at all previous relevant research is an impossible task because of the nature of the field. There are approaches to psychology that I hate, for example evolutionary psychology. I have read literature and even took a full course on the topic, however I do not include it in my approach to psychology and my analysis of individuals simply because I disagree with most of it and find it inherently outdated and problematic. Criticizing Bettelheim for not consulting another scholar’s work is harmful because it suggests that there is a “correct” approach to psychology which undermines the point of the entire field. It is possible for psychologists to have conflicting ideas and can be incredibly important in discovering new things. For example, our current understanding of color vision developed from two incredibly different theories. The acceptance that the two theories can both be true at the same time is what allowed psychologists to have a wholistic understanding of how we see color.
Bettelheim is also criticized for using the work of psychologist Julius E. Heuscher from his 1963 book without credit. Passages are copied almost word for word and Bettelheim uses several of Heuscher’s main ideas and claims that they are his own (Dundes 79). Unlike the other criticisms, I strongly agree with this one. It is undoubtedly wrong to use another’s work without credit and since the paragraphs are worded almost identically, lazy on Bettelheim’s behalf.
To truly replicate a “study” I must explain my participants, and methodology: I constructed stories of three children experiencing different complex issues, these make up the case studies in this paper and my participants. None of the information in any of these case studies represent real children as this would be unethical without providing informed consent and getting permission from the Institutional Review Board. I have applied Bettelheim’s concepts and motifs to each case study to evaluate the child and prescribe them a fairytale to help with the problem they are having.
CASE STUDY 1
Lia’s school reports that Lia is incredibly socially withdrawn. She was referred by her elementary school counselor as her teachers noticed she would frequently stay inside during recess to read her book. Lia is above average reading level for her age, and particularly has an interest in sci-fi fantasy books. Her school reports that she is very intelligent and always does well on her assignments, but rarely speaks, even in class. Lia’s parents report that getting to school is a challenge for Lia and that she hates trying new things. When asked more about what that meant, Lia’s parents said that every day Lia would scream and cry and beg not to go to school. They also state that Lia has little interest in sports or outside activities and at home spends a lot of time in her room, reading. Lia’s parents also state that when they leave as a family, Lia often clings to them and refuses to interact with anyone else, she struggles to order food when the family goes out to eat and makes her parents order for her. In session, Lia is silent and reads her book. The only time she speaks, without being asked to speak, is to ask: Can I go home now? She asks this at the end of every session at 1:30 on the dot. She seems to be eager to go home and she packs her book into her shoulder bag quickly and leaves. Lia appears to have a tremor in her right hand and rocks back and forth when she reads, presumably for comfort. When asked to describe what she is reading she will in detail and then promptly go back to reading, when she talks about her book she becomes animated and passionate, words come easy to her but she is unwilling to discuss anything other than the plots of the books that she reads.
FAIRY TALE ASSIGNED AND WHY (1)
Lia appears to struggle from severe anxiety to the point of agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a condition that is characterized by the extreme anxiety around traveling to new places and leaving the home. Individuals with agoraphobia are trapped by their own anxieties, the disorder revolves around a fear of being potentially stuck in an overwhelming situation ( Agoraphobia, Mayo Clinic). Individuals with agoraphobia also may find that clinging to family members, especially in unfamiliar environments can temporarily help the individual feel more secure. However, this is not a treatment nor a cure for agoraphobia as we cannot always rely on others to be a safety blanket. “If we try to escape separation anxiety and death anxiety by desperately trying to keep grasp on our parents, we will only be cruelly forced out, like Hansel and Gretel.” (Bettelheim, 11). The only effective treatment to agoraphobia is facing ones own anxiety. Reading seems to be a way that Lia can cope with the overwhelming outside world when she does not have the security of her parents. Reading, specifically something so far from reality like fantasy is a form of escapism as it is a mentally stimulating activity that transports one to a different world. While stories are incredible for young minds as outlined through Bettelheim’s work, and Lia is obviously incredibly intelligent for her age, forming social bonds and relationships outside of parents is necessary for children as their parents won’t be there for them to rely on forever.
I would prescribe Lia Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm because individuals with agoraphobia often feel trapped by their own anxieties, much like Rapunzel is trapped in her tower by the evil witch. The evil witch is a personification of Lia’s anxieties, she is unaware that she is trapping herself in her own metaphorical tower. She believes what her anxiety is telling her, that she is unequipped to handle overwhelming situations and relationships without the help of her parents much like the evil witch in Rapunzel believes that Rapunzel cannot handle the world away from her tower. The witch believes that she is protecting Rapunzel when in reality her lack of preparation for the world makes her vulnerable this is similar to the way that Lia’s anxiety tells her that new places and situations are dangerous when this is not the case. Rapunzel lets a random man climb her hair and be alone with her in her isolated tower, she has never met a man before (Tatar 491) and therefore she does not know that they can be dangerous, she is naive to the understanding that people don’t always have the best intentions and because of this puts herself in an incredibly vulnerable situation. Lia, is blind to her own naivety as is Rapunzel, seeing this nativity in a character that shares her experience of feeling trapped is an important lesson for Lia to learn. The prince is also helpful for Lia to see that relationships can be a beneficial thing. Though she naively lets him in the tower, she is hesitant to form a relationship with him at first “Rapunzel at first was terribly afraid, she had never laid eyes on a man before. However the prince began to talk to her in a friendly way and told her that her song had touched his heart so deeply that he had not been able to rest until he had seen her. Gradually Rapunzel overcame her fears,” (Tatar 491). The evil witch harming her beloved prince shows Lia that pushing those away because of her anxiety (literally in the case of the evil witch pushing the prince out of the tower) is leaving her alone with the thing that is trying to sabotage her masquerading as a “protector”, her anxiety. Even when blind, the prince does not give up searching for Rapunzel, which models a positive example of how good relationships can be and that her anxiety can be wrong.
Reading is a way that Lia copes with this anxiety through escapism and distraction, however this does not make the anxiety go away rather pushes it back to the unconscious. Bettelheim states: “When the unconscious is repressed and its content denied entrance into awareness, then eventually the person’s conscious mind will be partially overwhelmed by the derivatives of these unconscious elements, or he is forced to keep such rigid compulsive control over them that his personality may become severely crippled,” (Bettelheim, 7). Lia must learn how to face her anxiety rather than trying to escape it if she wants to live a life more fulfilling than being trapped in her tower. Rapunzel is a character relatable for Lia and the story can help her understand that her anxiety does not have her best interests at heart and is in fact stunting her development.
CASE STUDY 2
Allison is an 8 year old girl from Chicago Illinois, Mother reports frequent outbursts at home. School reports that Allison is withdrawn and often seems to be in her own world. Her love for drawing and art signals high creativity. Allison appears to be shy, slight hand tremor in both hands suggests anxiety and nervousness. She keeps to herself and only speaks when prompted, she is very polite. Allison reports that her parents are married happily. Allison reports that her mother works a lot. When asked if Allison and her mother fight a lot: Allison insists that they do not and that they have an excellent relationship despite her mother’s report. Allison is always on time, her mother brings her to each session despite her seemingly busy schedule. Allison and her family seem to be well off financially and it is evident a lot of emphasis is placed on Allison’s appearance and the way she presents herself. She maintains good posture, even when sitting on the couch and is always wearing formal clothes. Her hair is always in two identical tight braids. When asked about why she is in therapy Allison states that it is because she is a bad kid sometimes and has anger issues. Allison’s school reports no anger outbursts but that sometimes Allison appears sad.
FAIRY TALE ASSIGNED AND WHY (2)
Considering Allison’s prognosis, and the lack of issues at school, a defiant disorder is not evident. Rather, Allison seems to suffer from anxiety due to her mother’s inability to properly handle her stress. Judging from the level of politeness she demonstrates it is evident that this is something enforced strongly at home. Her mother cares about her, she makes time to bring her to therapy and Allison’s afternoon sports. However, the cause of Allison’s outbursts does not seem to be related to an underlying issue rather pressure from her mother to reach a standard of perfection that is impossible for a child. Considering that Allison insists there are no problems between her and her mother, it can be inferred that Allison is experiencing a phenomenon that Bettelheim calls “false parent syndrome”: “Far from being a device only used by fairy tales, such a splitting up of one person into two to keep the good image uncontaminated occurs to many children as a solution to a relationship too difficult manage or comprehend.” (Bettelheim, 67). Allison does not yet have the tools to understand that her mother’s anger is a manifestation of her own anxiety around her unachievable expectations of Allison, so instead of viewing her relationship with her mother as it is she internalizes her mother’s issues.
A fairytale motif used to help children better comprehend their own understanding of false parent syndrome is the Evil Stepmother. Children lack the ability to accept that sometimes parents aren’t “all good” or “all bad” and by creating an “all bad” stepmother it can help the child understand their anger and towards the evil stepmother while still acknowledging that the “good” or biological mother exists. Creating an evil separate parent allows children to understand that it is possible for a parent to be at fault and this could be extremely helpful with Allsion, “The fairytale suggests not only isolating and separating the disparate and confusing aspects of child’s experience into opposites, but projecting these onto different figures,” (Bettelheim, 75). Allison’s lack of willingness to discuss the issues in the relationship with her mother indicates that she feels ashamed for the inability to control her anger, an impossible expectation to have of the child. “It is as if the fairy tales, while admitting how human it is to get angry, expects only adults to have sufficient self-control not to let themselves get carried away,” (Bettelheim, 72)
To get Allison to realize that her anxiety and emotions are not the fault of her and that her mother’s expectations are harming her, I would prescribe her Cinderella by: the Brothers Grimm. Cinderella provides not only an evil step-mother, but also evil step-siblings. Applying Bettelheim’s concept of “false parent syndrome” to the step-sisters as well may help Allison understand that the parent and their expectations can influence the behavior of a child, therefore helping her understand that the fault of her outbursts are not entirely her own and that her mother’s expectations of perfection are influencing her behavior. The Brothers Grimm create a clear juxtaposition between the behavior of Cinderella’s original mother and her step-mother as well as between her and her step siblings. In the beginning of the story the step-sisters were described as having “features (that) were beautiful and white but whose hearts were foul and black,” (Tatar 148). The opposite of Cinderella, who is good and always says her prayers but is covered in ash because she sleeps next to it every night (Tatar 148). Representing Bettelheim’s idea of having all good and all bad characters split Allison can now clearly see how a parental figure can be responsible for negative traits in their child. This could possibly also help Allison prevent internalizing her mother’s obsession with her appearance. The protagonist in Cinderella is represented as wearing rags and being covered in ash but she is a good person, whereas her step-sisters obsessed with vanity and status do “everything imaginable to make Cinderella’s life miserable” (Tatar 148). Much like Allison’s mother, the evil step-mother in Cinderella is obsessed with status. She even goes as far to cut off parts of her own daughter’s feet so that they will marry royalty (Tatar 152). Both increasing her and her daughter’s status. The Step-mother’s expectation of status is literally physically harming and disabling her children. It is clear that Allison has been instructed not to talk about her fights with her mother because of her hesitancy discussing their relationship. Her mother has an expectation of the appearance of a perfect relationship with her daughter while this is not actually the case. Often parents are afraid that a child’s emotions as well as their own will reflect negatively on them and their parenting. Telling their children to not speak about family fighting, creates an environment of shame around anger. As seen through the evil step-mother cutting off the step sisters feet. Attempting to alter or change the truth to keep an appearance has devastating effects for the child. The step-sisters are expected to lie and pretend that they are Cinderella while bleeding and in pain. Forcing a child to deny their own pain from their parents anger to maintain an appearance is detrimental to the child’s understanding of their sense of self because the child will internalize all of that anger and believe that they are the problem. Cinderella can teach Allison about the harmful side of familial expectations through the motif of the evil stepmother.
For anyone struggling:
If you are struggling with fear of growing up read Sleeping Beauty: No one can stay a child forever and you may miss a lot trying to prevent the inevitable.
If you keep falling in love with people that destroy you read Beauty and the Beast: A beast is a beast for a reason, even if he is incredibly nice. This story can help you understand why you love those that hurt you.
If you are stuck in grief read Cinderella: Don’t allow your grief to make you miss out on the ball and finding your prince. Be your own fairy godmother and pull yourself out of wallowing.
If you struggle with confidence read Hansel and Gretel: You are more clever than you think and you can and will get out of bad situations.
If you struggle with self-sabotage read Snow White: Don’t let things meaningless things like vanity prevent you from true happiness.
If you feel like you are stuck in a box read Little Red Riding Hood: Wolves come out when you stay on the path.
Works cited:
Tsitsani, P., et al. “Fairy Tales: A Compass for Children’s Healthy Development—a Qualitative Study in a Greek Island.” Child: Care, Health and Development, vol. 38, no. 2, Mar. 2012, pp. 266–72. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.lmu.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01216.x.
Bettelheim, Bruno. Uses of Enchantment. Random House Inc, 2023.
Dundes, Alan. “Bruno Bettelheim’s Uses of Enchantment and Abuses of Scholarship.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 104, no. 411, 1991, pp. 74–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/541135. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024
“Agoraphobia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 7 Jan. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/agoraphobia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355987.
Tatar, Maria, editor. The Classic Fairy Tales: Texts, Criticism. Second ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.
