Fairy Tales are True.

For my story telling sessions at the library I rely heavily on Western fairy tales. I find that fairy tales have a grip on the children and can hold their attention longer. Are fairy tales all that airy fairy as they seem? I remember when we were in school my elder sister who is Chinese educated condemned Western fairy tales as superficial and vain as compared to Chinese myths and legends. She opined that Chinese legends are steeped in moral teachings whilst western fairy tales always spin around prince and princesses and often end with them living happily ever after.

Contrary to being airy fairy, I have recently learnt that western fairy tales consist not only of moral teachings on a superficial level but also have complex metaphors which symbolize the common internal struggles in the journey of life. Whilst the fairy tale appears fanciful and unrealistic it is often true metaphorically.

Fairy tales can be very dark reflecting the aggressive and dark side in us. Children can relate to fairy tales because they are actually pyschologically fearful of their own aggressiveness and the dark side of their personalities. So when a princess or a maiden has to kiss a frog or an ugly beast to restore it to its original self, the story is telling us that we have to embrace and acknowledge the "ugliness" or shadow in us to become whole. The shadow is that part of us that we want to hide from others. Likewise the marriage between the royal household and peasantry symbolizes the unity of opposites.

Going on a long journey or travelling to a faraway land, a common theme in fairy tales, is really about life's journey. Many fairy tales also feature a descent into a well, a dark cave or a long narrow staircase. This is a symbol of going deep into our unconscious or deeper psyche to discover the truth. It may also symbolize a regression in our psyche like a depression or other neurotic afflictions. Often animals provide assistance to the traveller which is a metaphor of the need to connect with our primordial instincts and creativity or to listen to the wisdom of nature. An evil witch on the other hand may represent the negative mother complex whilst a fairy godmother that of a positive mother complex. An abandoned child or orphan in a fairy tale can very well relate to the feeling of abandonment or loss in a man's life when the mother-child unity phase in him has been severed too abruptly in childhood or when his development of a separate entity from his mother has been too quick or prematured.

Stories about old childless couples longing for a child give hints about the lack of growth and generation in our psyche. So too are those stories about retired or discharged soldiers returning home with nothing to live on. These tales could well represent people who have fought the wars in their life or retired from their career but find themselves lacking the psyche energy to live on. In almost all fairy tales the main character has to undergo several trials (usually 3 in number) before reunification or resolution takes place. Where resolution comes in the form of the overthrow of a king or death of an evil creature, it is a metaphor that renewal or change is required for growth and reconciliation.

Apparently you can find out quite a fair bit about yourself by paying attention to the fairy tale that engages you deeply. Pay attention to the affect ie. the emotions that it evokes in you as well as the turning points in the stories that pull you in. Incidentally, one of the courses that a Jungian psychoanalysts has to undergo is the interpretation of fairy tales! Amazing isn't it.

Well now when I prepare a fairy tale for my story telling sessions I can use some analysis for my own amusement. So whilst the children enjoy the fantasies and the magic I can tune in instinctively and metaphorically. Who knows maybe the children who have still not lost their primordial instincts can actually relate to them more intuitively than I can. No wonder they always draw nearer and nearer when the tale is told!