Snow White By Bruno Bettelheim

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Recommended: What are the impacts of fairy tales on children

“Once upon a time" is an phrase recognisable to youngsters throughout the world as the starting point of a fairy tale, whether it be a story of rulers, peasants, orphans or princess. These four words serve as a welcome to an experience in a supernatural universe of miracle, however fairy tales are more than basic stories told to enthrall children. Fairy tales and folk stories have followed societies through the ages and still play a consequential part of children’s lives. This essay will utilise psychological theories of Bruno Bettelheim to analyse the effect fairy tales could have on the innocent and receptive minds of youngsters. Through the examination of the popular Grimm fairy tales ‘Snow White’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’. To begin with, …show more content…

Their extreme social and emotional depth is connected to incidents children may face in their daily lives. An important aspect of these stories is the fact that children can relate themselves to the young protagonists in the stories. Listening to these folk tales removes the child's fears as they believe that if one is clever enough, they can take care of themselves and overcome the horrible situations. In the story ‘Hansel and Gretel’, when the two children find themselves alone in a forest, Gretel begins to cry and said, "How will we get out of woods?” This portrays the young protagonists fears. Bettelheim states that “The child intuitively comprehends that although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue ...” As the child reading the story is of the same age, they feel they can better connect to the character’s feelings. At the end of this story, the two siblings progress to victory. Through going on a life changing journey full of abandonment and horror, the two heroes mature and change, coming back victorious. The change they go through teaches the children that nothing is rigid: the heroes, wherever they may be from, however young they may be, can change their destinies if they …show more content…

Most can’t digest the fact that children might begin to hide hateful feelings towards their parents. The fairytale ‘Little Snow White’ from the Brothers Grimm collection recounts a story of a young protagonist who blossoms into a beautiful adolescent, which makes her stepmother jealous. “From that hour on whenever she looked at Snow-White her heart turned over inside her body, so great was her hatred for the girl.” The stepmother begins to feel intense jealousy towards her stepdaughter. Letting her envy and pride control her, she conspires against her daughter to have her murdered. This story essentially concerns clashes between mother and daughter. Children feel envious of their parents’ freedom and privileges as adults. “The child’s own unresolved feelings

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