Can We Defend the View that fairytales are Simple Stories to
Children may like fairy tales because they show good triumphing over evil; adults may prefer them because they trigger childhood nostalgia or a social event close to them in their lives. The fact is that fairy tales were written to be enjoyed, and although have become universally loved, they all contain a hidden meaning from just being a 'little old bedtime story'. The psychoanalytical view of the fairytale teaches that it's meaning depends and varies between the individual and the individual's interpretation.The general aim of a fairytale is to entertain but the psychoanalysts would say that underneath the entertainment value of the tale lies the real meanings that focuses on the readers subconscious and uncovers material not consciously present in the mind of the reader but hidden away until the thoughts are provoked into life. Fairy tales can mean different things to different people; each finds a different type of sanctuary within the world of the make believe.The general view is that fairytales reflect patterns of emotional life, and they are things that we can relate to whether that be directly or indirectly due to our ability to recognize certain factors of the tales. Zipes, a theorist of fairytales believed that it
Bruno Bettelheim's study of fairytales is based on the idea that the tales contain underlying, yet universal patterns that speak to the mind, particularly a child's mind, but also adults by grasping their egos. Briar Rose was a wild rose with thorns. On the contrary, many psychologists and theorist from the past believe that the themes, characters and theories found in fairy tales affect the readers mind more than anyone really knows. Research shows that even small children pick up on common themes in fairytales. The tale of Hansel and Gretel is the most politically and socially correct tale of all of Grimm's creations. The story is a struggle of people who want more and that is why we can relate so well to it - simply because we always want more too. These factors have been previously unobtainable because they are unconscious thoughts. Those who were not members of the aristocracy or bourgeoisies upper and middle classes had a tough time battling to merely survive. The pattern of emotional and social life in the story is reflected in our own lives. The urgency at which to marry off and settle young girls down is still seen today in society, and although more prolific back then, it is still a very tense and close to home subject now. This questions whether there really are hidden meanings in the stories or whether it is our 21st century minds that are doing the suggesting. Freud said that probing deeper into the dreams of people establish what makes us tick and the very fact that the dream of Hansel and Gretel is shared by so many of the readers both back then and at the present day is what makes the tale so affective and why our mind, upon reading the tale would be subconsciously thinking about our own desires. Another form of conflict is between the main character and her subconscious. was the ease in which a fairytale fits into the social and historical period of the reader that makes it so memorable - the social order in a tale is imitated in real life therefore is understood. By psychoanalysing his patients he discovered that many of the processes that were brought about by the use of fairytales were done so by the factors in a fairytale that 'attacks' the unconscious mind.
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Acceptance Essays
