The Uses of Enchantment

The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales Paperback – May 11, 2010

Author: Visit Amazon's Bruno Bettelheim Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0307739635 | Format: PDF, EPUB

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The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales – May 11, 2010
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“Bettelheim argues convincingly that fairy tales provide a unique way for children to come to terms with the dilemmas of their inner lives.” —The Atlantic

“A charming book about enchantment, a profound book about fairy tales.” —John Updike, The New York Times Book Review

“A splendid achievement, brimming with useful ideas, with insights into how young children read and understand, and most of all overflowing with a realistic optimism and with an experienced and therapeutic good will.” —Harold Bloom, The New York Review of Books

“Provocative and persuasive.” —Boston Globe

From the Inside Flap

The great child psychologist gives us a moving revelation of the enormous and irreplaceable value of fairy tales - how they educate, support and liberate the emotions of children.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (May 11, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307739635
ISBN-13: 978-0307739636
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #22 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Psychoanalysis
- #33 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Psychoanalysis
- #90 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology

It is well known that storytelling is an innate expression of civilization, in an effort to define who we are and to make sense of the world. The fairy tale is an important part of this tradition that has a long and rich history spanning thousands of years.

First published in 1975, Bruno Bettleheim, one of Sigmund Freud's followers and an important contributor to psychoanalysis, has written an incredible book, suggesting that the fairy tale has a pedagogical use, educating the child about the struggles in life, that these struggles are an intrinsic aspect of existence. Following Plato, he believes that the literary education of children should begin with the telling of myths. In other words, the fairy tale can present models for behaviour, providing meaning and value to our lives. This wonderful book expresses this view extremely well and also provides a frame of reference towards the child's overall psychological development.

I have read Freud for some years, and nowhere, including Freud himself, have I read a more succinctly expressed view on the ultimate purpose of psychoanalysis, than in this book by Dr. Bettleheim, he writes,

"Psychoanalysis was created to enable man to accept the problematic nature of life without being defeated by it, or giving in to escapism. Freud's prescription is that only by struggling courageously against what seems like unwieldy odds can man succeed in wringing meaning out of existence." (P.8)

Fairy tales inform us about life's struggles, hardships and the reality of death. From Bettleheim's point of view, the fairy tale is a "manifold form" that communicates to the child, educates them, against life's vagaries and realities, which are the unavoidable aspects of our existence.