Charleston County Public Library

The uses of enchantment, the meaning and importance of fairy tales, Bruno Bettelheim

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-328) and index

index present

non fiction

The uses of enchantment

bibliography

Bruno Bettelheim

the meaning and importance of fairy tales

Argues the values fairy tales provide for children, allowing a safe way to deal with conflict at a young age

Introduction: the struggle for meaning -- pt. 1. A pocketful of magic. Life divined from the inside -- "The fisherman and the Jinny": fairy tale compared to fable -- Fairy tale versus myth: optimism versus pessimism -- "The three little pigs": pleasure principle versus reality principle -- The child's need for magic -- Vicarious satisfaction versus conscious recognition -- The importance of externalization: fantasy figures and events -- Transformations: the fantasy of the wicked stepmother -- Bringing order into chaos -- "The queen bee": achieving integration -- "Brother and sister": unifying our dual nature -- "Sindbad and the seaman and Sindbad the porter": fancy versus reality -- The frame story of Thousand and one nights -- Tales of two brothers -- "The three languages": building integration -- "The three feathers": the youngest child as simpleton -- Oedipal conflicts and resolutions: the knight in shining armor and the damsel in distress -- Fear of fantasy: why were fairy tales outlawed? -- Transcending infancy with the help of fantasy -- "The goose girl": achieving autonomy -- Fantasy, recovery, escape and consolation -- On the telling of fairy stories -- pt. 2. In Fairy Land. "Hansel and Gretel" -- "Little Red Riding Hood" -- "Jack and the beanstalk" -- The jealous queen in "Snow White" and the myth of Oedipus -- "Snow White" -- "Goldilocks and the three bears" -- "The Sleeping Beauty" -- "Cinderella" -- The animal-groom cycle of fairy tales

Meaning and importance of fairy tales