Maturation through suffering as an opportunity of personal growth, based on the Brothers Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Abstract

The paper deals with the therapeutic function of fairy tales in the constructive solution of a child’s developmental crises when he or she is between 3 and 11 years old. At the same time the great significance of fairy tales during that period of upbringing is recognised. The author focuses on three fairy tales written by Brothers Grimm, that is Town Musicians of Bremen, Snow White and Hansel and Gretel, although she also refers to the fairy tale titled Godfather Death, and finally – to A Little Match Girl by H. Ch. Andersen. The interpretive discourse is mostly inspired by the psychoanalysis from the poin of view of Bruno Bettelheim (The Uses of Enchantment…) and Erik Erikson’s theory on the developmental phases in the child’s life. Moreover, the interpretation is extended by Piaget’s educational thought and the theory of androgyny. Thus, the idea of fairy tale therapy brings to the consciousness the depth of the psychological problem and creates the opportunity for teaching the child how to deal with suffering (and death) experience, provided that the educator will manage to employ the right fairy tales to the particular psychological phases (spr.) of the child’s maturation.