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  • The Feminist in Fairy Tales: Two Books from the Jung Institute, Zurich
  • Marcia R. Lieberman (bio)
An Introduction to the Interpretation of Fairy Tales(1970; $3.50) and Problems of the Feminine in Fairy Tales(1972; $6.00) by Marie Louise von Franz. (Spring Publications, Suite 306, 130 East 39th Street, New York, N. Y. 10016)

The earlier of these two books, Interpretation of Fairy Tales, is an excellent short exposition of the Jungian view of fairy tales and myths. Dr. von Franz lucidly [End Page 217]explains why fairy tales are a source of attraction for Jungian analysts. Jung considered myths, as products of particular cultures, to have national character. He believed that a myth expresses the cultural collective consciousness of the nation in which it originated, but that fairy tales mirror the basic structure of the human psyche, and thus transcend racial and cultural differences. Jung held that in fairy tales one can best study the comparative anatomy of the psyche, because the tales contain less specific cultural conscious material than is found in myths. Dr. von Franz explains the Jungian method of psychological interpretation of tales, and applies it to several stories.

Her more recent book, The Problems of the Feminine in Fairy Tales, analyzes the situation of women in fairy tales in order to explore the Jungian point of view further. While the book contains a good deal of interesting cross-cultural material, and illuminating discussions of certain images and symbols, the Jungian premise underlies the entire study, and the fairy tales are analyzed rather to show how they reflect the Jungian view than to see what else they might yield. Psychological presuppositions are applied to the tales. This will be interesting to someone who wishes to explore Jung's theories, and to the reader who seeks discussion of some of the mysteries we find in the tales. Feminists, however, will have difficulty with Dr. von Franz's approach. She believes that the minds of men and women work differently, and that they have distinct personality principles, not only as individuals but also collectively, by sex.

She makes certain categorical statements about women: they love to be unclear, they vegetate more easily than men, they have more of a herd instinct, and are more interested in love and personal relationships. She notices that the heroines in fairy tales are generally more passive than the heroes, but assumes that this reflects the essential nature of feminine personality. After analyzing an early version of Cinderella, in which the heroine must sort out mildewed corn from good seed, Dr. von Franz remarks that "the Cinderella task would be the task of the woman": if she can penetrate her hidden nature and there separate bad from good, "she does something which corresponds to the hero's deeds of slaying the dragon, or building the new town, or freeing the people from terror" (p. 162). In referring to stories in which curious women are punished, she observes that "curious inquisitiveness, as far as I have seen, is not so often punished in myths about heroes, though it often attracts destruction onto the heroine" (p. 168). A femimst would ask whether the tale was not intended to support a patriarchal cultural view that rebukes women for being curious.

Most feminists would deny Dr. von Franz's whole set of assumptions, although they would share the Jungian interest in the tales. Feminists do not recognize themselves in fairy tales, and do not believe that they depict women accurately. Rather, they believe that the tales serve to influence children and women, and to acculturate them to accept an externally imposed view of what is innately or properly feminine. What is lacking in Dr. von Franz's work is any consideration of the socializing effect that the tales have had upon readers. [End Page 218]

Marcia R. Lieberman

Marcia R. Lieberman, Ph. D., Brandeis University, is a specialist in feminist criticism, including the feminine in fairy tales.

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