The Uses of Enchantment

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For fairy tale fans and Freud students

Insights from a new perspective

A classic psychoanalytical view of fairy tales

Take with a LARGE grain of salt

Read with a grain of salt
The Uses of Enchantment
Bruno Bettelheim
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Folklore | Mythology | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0394497716
Release Date: 1976-04-12

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

For fairy tale fans and Freud students.......2007-09-02

I love this book. I keep coming back to it, borrowing it from multiple libraries around the country to re-read, buying it and then loosing it in storage, finding it again and discovering its charm and appeal over and over again. It's a fantastic find, and I will be forever indebted to the now-forgotten college professor who recommended it to me.

For most of the first part of the book, Bruno Bettelheim discusses where fairy tales come from and how they can subconsciously help children with such Freudian problems as the Oedipal complex, and with ordinary problems such as sibling rivalry. He also discusses why some people have tried to ban fairy tales throughout history, something that could draw parallels to recent cases of Harry Potter banning. However, the part of the book that I enjoy the most is where Bettelheim dissects several fairy tales to discover their possible hidden meanings. If you enjoyed the Broadway musical "Into the Woods," this may be your favorite section as well, since the musical also looks for the underlying meaning in certain fairy tales. Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella and more are all discussed at length.

If you're a fan of fairy tales, this book should be a part of your personal reference library. Highly recommended.

Insights from a new perspective.......2005-12-01

Whatever opinion scholars have of Bettelheim, this is an extraordinarily eye-opening work for a layman. Just the insights into the magical thinking of children--how fairy tales make sense to them because a parent's abilities to predict behavior, for example, seems magical to them too--is "worth the price of admission" for any parent.

A classic psychoanalytical view of fairy tales.......2005-04-28

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. More specifically, the fairy tale is an educational tool to help children grow and develop into adults. He goes on to say that the child needs to be given "...suggestions in symbolic form about how he may deal with these issues and grow safely into maturity." (P.9)

Bettleheim adeptly sets out to prove his theses by analysing well known fairy tales in the context of psychoanalytic theory, persuasively arguing the value of these tales towards the child's psychological development.

If you are interested in psychoanalysis and would like to know more about the profound positive effects the telling of fairy tales can have on our young, this incredible book is indispensable.

Take with a LARGE grain of salt.......2004-04-17

I've noticed that one reviewer pointed to Richard Pollak's biography of the author, "The Creation of Dr. B," as a source of information on Bruno Bettelheim's legitimacy as a psychoanalyst (or lack thereof). I would second that recommendation. Before reading "The Uses of Enchantment," one should be aware that large portions of this book were brazenly plagiarized from other sources, such as Julius Heuscher's "A Psychiatric Study of Fairy Tales: Their Origin, Meaning and Usefulness." Several passages were lifted directly from this work, published in 1963 (more than a decade before Bettelheim began writing "The Uses of Enchantment"), and barely even paraphrased. Heuscher was cited only once by Bettelheim, and not for any of these virtually direct quotes. I would think long and hard before taking anything Bettelheim attempted to pass off as his own work seriously.

Read with a grain of salt.......2003-12-02

While reading this book I found many ah-ha moments. I found it inspirational in getting my creative writing juices flowing and in showing even more reasons for why not censoring fairy tales is good for children. That being said, I also found myself questioning many of the authors arguments. I know very little about freudian psychology and while I can easily accept the idea of the id, ego, and super ego standing as metaphors for instict, self, and conscience, I did have a hard time with all of the oedipal references. Still, I accepted them in terms of the tension between a child and his same sex parent as he comes of age rather than the desire to have the opposite sex parent all to himself. I also felt uneasy about the fact that the children he was referencing seemed far more disturbed than the normal child and I highly doubt that not exposing your child to fairy tales will cause such damage to a child. Still, I was aware that he was a child psychologist and accepted that the children he had most contact with were the more disturbed children so that is why he chose them for his frames of reference. The first real problem I had with the text, however, was when he made reference to autism and a child who was "cured of autism".

Later in the text he mentions a study where there was a group of children who were familiar with violent fairy tales, and a group of children who were only familiar with the watered down versions. Both groups were showed violent films. Bettelheim claimed that the group exposed to the fairy tales reacted less aggressively to the films. I found this interesting but poorly cited which makes me wonder about the ligitamacy of this assumption. Reading other reviews and finding out more about Bettelheim's history helped me put the reading into perspective.

Book Description

What can a therapist do when faced with the all?too?familiar client who seems "stuck" or "resistant". With this captivating volume, veteran therapists Carol and Steve Lankton offer clinicians a highly effective tool with which they can expand their ability to be successful in therapy through integrating the use of indirection into the more commonly used rational and direct approach. This is a book of predesigned stories that the Lanktons and their trainees have told in successful therapy in order to assist clients in their movement toward specific, preplanned goals. The stories are categorized according to the way they are structured to reach particular types of goals, such as changes in affect, attitudinal restructuring, changes in behavior, changes in family structure, changes in self?image, and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic collection of therapeutic metaphors.......2002-11-05

Metaphors are powerful vehicles for change; the unconscious mind must associate with elements of the story to understand it. Milton H. Erickson, M.D., arguably the greatest hypnotherapist ever, often utilized metaphors to achieve breakthroughs with his patients. Now 100 Ericksonian metaphors are available for you to use with patients thanks to the Lanktons' Tales of Enchantment. Each metaphorical story in this treasure trove is preceded with information regarding what the story teaches, problems addressed, and the target audience. I highly recommend this collection of therapeutic metaphors for any Ericksonian hypnotherapist or individual who wishes to read stories that will effectuate positive changes in his or her life.

A positive resource for profesionals and non-profesionals.......1998-08-11

This book is oriented principally to people thet work in the mental health area, giving very valuable resources for cariing out therapeutic conversations, and reading it adds a great deal to creativity. But on the other hand, it doesn't have a good review of how to construct metaphors, it presents many ready-made metaphors.

Book Description

This witty and charming collection of ten short fantasies includes a story, set in the Enchanted Forest, about Queen Cimorene's Frying Pan of Doom; a zany yarn about a magical blue chipmunk with a passion for chestnuts; and an eerie tale of a caliph who turns his vizier's daughter into a wolf.

Customer Reviews:

Charming and well-written, as usual.......2007-08-25

What a charming collection of stories! As usual, Wrede writes with wit, skill and good humor. While some of her books are aimed at a fairly young audience (the Dealing with Dragons series) and some for older children and adults (the Sorcery and Cecelia series), I have enjoyed them all, and this collection of short stories is no exception.

Frying Pan of Doom Rocks!.......2007-02-20

Some of the stories in this anthology were a bit bizarre and dark. I really liked the humorous and clever stories, like the one about the Frying Pan of Doom. I have never laughed so hard!

Ten stories that shine like the stars.......2005-08-12

These stories vary a lot in content and feel, but they're all wonderful. Each is well-written, with strong female characters.

"Rikiki and the Wizard" is written as a "S'Rian Folk Story", for a book of stories about an imaginary place called Liavek. It begins with a wizard who is very lucky and very famous. But, having fame, he wants it to last forever. So he decides to offer his daughter Ryvenna (beautiful, but more importantly, clever and kind) in marriage to a god. The gods are miffed that he didn't ask her or them, so they agree not to come when he summons them. One god, the blue chipmunk Rikiki, forgets. The wizard can't get Rikiki to fulfill his wish, since the only thing Rikiki is interested in is nuts. He doesn't know what fame is, so he can't bestow it. The wizard rapidly looses patience and tries to get rid of Rikiki, but his third attempt is foiled by Ryvenna. She explains things to Rikiki- but the result (I've told most of the plot, but I won't tell the entirity of this) is more like Midas for the wizard than anything else. Ryvenna, however, prospers.

"The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn" is about a talking cat, a vain unicorn, and a princess from a country called Oslett where nothing goes the way it does in the usual fairy tales. The fairies don't live close enough put curses on the Princesses, the only giant in the kingdom is nice, and the middle princess, Elyssa, is the one who gets an adventure. No one minds except the king's councelors, who are a pain. That's why Elyssa leaves; unlike in many stories, her family is enthusiastic. Also, she goes on an adventure for the sake of adventure, which very few women in fantasy do. Most of them are either running away or rescuing someone, which is fine, but overmany stories go like that. This one's fun.

"Roses by Moonlight" opens with a teenaged girl named Adrian on her driveway smoking to avoid her sister's party. Her mother comes home and on the way in, says, "If you are given a choice, be careful, be wise", and "I never thought there might be other dreams..." A strange woman then appears, taking Adrian into a rose garden that never existed before. Adrian is told that each rose holds a possible future, and if she plucks one, that is what will happen. She smells each flower to see what hte possibilities are. Some are wonderful; some are terrible, like a vision of herself dying because of her smoking. But in all of them, she finds an undercurrent of hate for her sister Sam, who is the kind of person everything goes right for. Adrian finally finds a barely opened rose that shows only a small future: not a vision of a time when she and Sam are on good terms, but a time when they talk about their envy for each other. She nearly picks it, but the memory of what her mother said keeps her from taking it. She ends up deciding to make her own future like everyone else. This is set in roughly modern times.

"The Sixty-Two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd" is about a girl called Imani, daughter of the grand vizier. It's set in an Arabian Nights kind of setting. Caliph Arenschadd is a wizard, and he has a list of sixty-two curses which he puts on anyone who gets on his nerves. Imani says that she can tell how long someone's been at court by which curse he has. Since the caliph curses peoples' families along with them, she and her mother (a sorceress) have been through fourty-seven curses with her father. Imani found some fun, some boring. This one is different. There's no cure, and it has made them werewolves. Imani enjoys part of htis, but it is too dangerous to let it stay. She manages to get rid of it when her parents (and the caliph) fail, with a little help from a friend who turns out to be the prince. The only story I've ever read where getting the ruler mad solves the problem rather than causing it.

"Earthwitch" is about a woman named Mariel, who is a vessal of the Earth Magic, and Evan Rydingsword, a king who used to be her lover. This isn't a story I can describe well, but it is good. THe idea of life as well as death being "the coin of hte Earth" was interesting, clever, and sensible.

"The Sword-Seller" is set in the Witch World. The main character, a mercenary named Auridan, is given a sword which he insists on paying for, a sword with a handle carved like a feathered serpent. He is then hired by a forthright, poor woman named Cyndal to take her to a relative. Cyndal is a strong character, but not very much in the story. Another hard to talk aobut one but good. While in "Earthwitch" the magic rules the characters and helps them for its own price, in its own way, in "The Sword-Seller", Auridan refuses to obey the laws of the magic in the story, thus destroying the artifact of magic, and freeing the sword-seller from an old and perilous duty.

"The Lorelei"- a high school girl outwits a siren-like creature and saves the life of a classmate she doesn't like much. Set in modern times.

"Stronger Than Time" Everyone says this story is dark. It is not. It is a story of what might have happened if the prince in Sleeping Beauty had been too impatient, and come in the wrong time. It's a sad story, but it is gracefully written. Una's words, quoted by Arven- "Time and death are the greatest enemies all of us must face, and the only weapon stronger than they are is love." That's what the story is about- not ghosts, curses, or magic. It's about love and faith, and righting one's own mistakes.

"Cruel Sisters" is my least favorite story in the book, although it's written well. This is the darkest story. Princess Margaret has spent all her life in between a terrible rivalry between her sisters Anne and Eleanor, who basicly hate each other. It gets worse when Eleanor marries the man both she and Anne love. (Margaret, called Meg, dislikes him.) Shortly after, Eleanor drowns in the river. The entire court- even Anne- mourns. Then, a few monthes later, a minstrel brings a harp to court that is made of Eleanor's bones and strung with her hair. It also sings with her voice and accuses Anne of murdering her. Anne tehn smashes the harp. Everyone thinks that this proves the trut hfo what it says- eccept the last sister. Meg says, "My sister Eleanor was a liar all her life, and all her life she cast the blame for her own errors on Anne. Why should death have changed that?" Meg isn't certain that Anne is innocent, since she hated Eleanor and had a fiery temper, but she does not trust the harp's words. She is the only one to doubt. Anne is put in a convent and dies. Meg feels remorse at not telling everyone how deep her sisters' rivalry went, but can't change what happened or what everyone beleives. She can only talk about her insights into others, and hope to avert any ohter tragedy. The unsolved murder mystery and the harp made of Eleanor's bones, make this story dark. But it is still well-written. A master's tale, but not one that is easy to read.

"Utensile Strength" takes place in the Enchanted Forest, with Cimorene, Mendanbar, and Daystar. The story is hilarious, and involves the Frying Pan of Doom, which was made by an enchanter trying to creat an ultimate weapon when he tripped over his pet pig and enchanted his wife's best frying pan. They can't give it to a hero because no one can touch it without an oven mit, and heros find taht undignified. With a combined cooking contest/tourney, interupted by another mighty enchanter, the propper weilder is found. MUCH better than it sounds.

"Quick After-Battle Chocolate Cake" is the recipe that won the cooking contest.

Wrede explains at the back were the ideas for each of hte stories came from. That's a great part.

These aren't really children's stories. Actualy, some are good for kids, but some are way too dark for young ones. I like "Stronger Than Time", "Earthwitch", "Roses by Moonlight" and "The Sword-Seller" "The Lorelei" now, and I can read "Cruel Sisters", but a few years ago I wouldn't have understood or liked them, and "Cruel Sisters" would have disturbed me. Some of hte others are just complicated, or have dark elements like death and hatred that I needed time to deal with. "Rikiki and the Wizard", "Utensile Strength", "THe Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn," and "The Sixty-Two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd" were fine for me when I was yougner, though.

A great book! Read it.

Loved It.......2004-04-24

I just loved this book. Although there were a few stories that I had difficulty keeping my attention on most of them were wonderful reads. My favorite was definitely The Frying Pan of Doom which is a stand-alone in the Talking to Dragons series. The After Battle Triple Chocolate Cake really is very good.

A Good, But Not Quite Outstanding Anthology.......2003-11-04

I love all of Ms. Wrede's work, funny or more serious, and this is a great variety of fantasy stories by one of my favorite authors, Patricia C. Wrede.

Here are the summaries of my more favorite stories from the anthology:

Utensile Strength: How can you not like a story about Queen Cimorene, King Mendanbar, and Daystar? (the Frying Pan of Doom is only an extra great bonus).

Roses By Moonlight: Choose one rose, any rose. This story was slightly chilling, even though its purpose was not to be a chilling tale (at least I don't think so). The rose woman was just kind of creepily mysterious if you know what I mean. Makes you wonder about fate and what yours is and if you have a choice about it.

The One-thousand Curses of Caliph Something-rather: All I really remember about this story is that it was good and had a satisfying twist.

Cruel Sisters: Probably tied for first place with Utensile Strength. Even though this tale isn't particulary happy it's very, very good. Sometimes sibling rivlary can go too far and in this case, it went as far as it could have possibly gone. The ending does leave you wondering: did the harp sing the truth?

I gave this book four stars because it was good but it wasn't quite outstanding.

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E is for Enchantment: A New Mexico Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
Helen Foster James
Manufacturer: Sleeping Bear Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alphabet | Basic Concepts | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1585361534

Book Description

Illustrated by Neecy Twinem

New Mexico rightly earns its nickname "Land of Enchantment" with natural treasures such as the White Sands National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns, and the Gila National Forest. But more than a beautiful landscape, New Mexico is steeped in the mystique, history, and tradition of multiple cultures, including the ancient Aztec and early Spanish explorers. From pueblo villages and stately missions to the nuclear energy research at Los Alamos, E is for Enchantment showcases the past, present, and future of New Mexico.

Helen Foster James has been an educator for more than twenty years, and is now a lecturer at San Diego State University. She received her doctorate from Northern Arizona University. One of her goals is to travel to all fifty states, and she's already visited more than half. She lives in San Diego, California, with big stacks of children's books and her husband Bob.

Neecy Twinem is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator of more than seventeen published books. She earned a fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, and has exhibited her artwork in the United States and Europe. After a family trip to northern New Mexico, Neecy fell in love with the Southwest and now makes her home in the natural surroundings of the Sandia Mountains area.

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Paraguay (Enchantment of the World. Second Series)
Byron Augustin
Manufacturer: Children's Press (CT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 051623675X

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ASIN: 0516248677

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