The Philosopher's Pen Part Four
The psychologist Bruno Bettelheim viewed the fairy tale in a very different light. For him the plots and motifs of these old stories were symbols of inner experience that could provide insight into human behaviour. As such they could play a significant and positive role in the psychological development of children. His theory was that children, by reading fairy tales, could gain a symbolic (albeit unconscious) understanding of the growing-up process and thereby overcome inner conflicts, such as oedipal dilemmas or sibling rivalry. Bettelheim states
“Fairy tales carry important messages to the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious … dealing with universal human problems, particularly those which preoccupy the child’s mind.”
In short he claimed that fairy tales convey the fundamental lesson of psychoanalysis: that life is problematic and struggle is inevitable; the trick being to face up to injustice and hardship and thereby learn to master all obstacles.
His reading of the Golden Goose and other ‘Simpleton’ tales differs greatly from Zipes’. Bettelheim sees it as a tale that symbolises the necessity of getting in touch with our unconscious and appreciating its powers. Although the character Simpleton is derided by his family it is he, and not they, who remains close to his “natural basis”, ie his unconscious, and thereby ends up victorious. The two arrogant, ‘clever’ brothers, “function on the basis of a much depleted ego, since it is cut off from the potential of its strength and richness, the id.”
Unlike their foolish little brother they disdain the old grey dwarf when he asks for a bite to eat. They cannot recognise the dwarf for what he is; a helper, a representative of the mysterious forces of nature and magic: the unconscious. Simpleton, able to tap into this tripartite source of power: the ego, the id and the superego, ends up with the golden goose, the princess (whom he teaches to laugh) and the kingdom. The child identifies with Simpleton because, like him, they can often feel stupid and inadequate in a complex, confusing world. The tale helps the child come to terms (at an unconscious level) with the desire to surpass their siblings or parents. It also shows them how to do it, how to grow and come into one’s own, by delving into one’s unconscious and utilising what one finds there with compassion and love: sharing the crust of bread or making the princess laugh.