Fairytales: Fairy Tale and Existential Predicaments

Fairy tales play different roles teaching children about morals, right v. wrong and with these teaching it impacts a child and helps them with their growth. In “Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament” by Bruno Bettelheim he argues that fairy tales help teach children more than parents do, since parents want to shelter children and only show them the sunny side of things. Fairy tales help them understand the existential predicaments one can face in life and shows that one can overcome anything that is thrown at them. In “Aschenputtel” by the brothers Grimm there’s this young girl that is expose to existential predicaments and shows the journey on overcoming them and Bettelheim will agree that this fairy tale can help a child grow by the arguments he argues, the same could be said for “The Algonquin Cinderella” they teach the same values to help children understand more about the reality in life. The exposing of existential predicaments as well as the exposure of the characters self worth in fairytales and the characters journey in overcoming hardships according to Bettelheim, can help a child understand their unconscious mind, the fairytales qualities show in “Aschenputtel” and in “the Algonquian Cinderella” through their hard but growing experiences. The exposure to existential predicaments are necessary for a child’s growth which are clearly seen in the predicament that Aschenputtel faces. Existential predicaments are problems that happen in real life that a child isn’t expose to but by watching or hearing fairytales they can help a child understand. Bettelheim mentions this when he states “The child needs most particularly to be given suggestions in symbolic form about how he may deal with these issues and grow safely into maturity”(216). In other words, the symbolism in fairytales plays an important role to help a child understand and In “Aschenputtel” to help her cope she doesn’t need materialistic things, she wants “The first twig, father, that strikes