The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales

“To enrich his life, it must stimulate his imagination; help him to develop his intellect and to clarify his emotions; be attuned to his anxieties and aspirations; give full recognition to his difficulties, while at the same time suggesting solutions to the problems which perturb him. In short, it must at one and the same time relate to all aspects of his personality—and this without ever belittling, but, on the contrary, giving full credence to the seriousness of the child’s predicaments, while simultaneously promoting confidence in himself and in his future.”

Bettelheim sets out his specification for the ideal children’s story. Overall, children’s literature should be in touch with the imagination and anxieties of its target audience. The emphasis on giving “full recognition” to difficulties and appealing to “all aspects of his personality” indicates Bettelheim’s view that children’s literature should not offer anodyne depictions of a child’s torments. Taboos brought up in the fairy tale will be compensated by the happy ending, as the child uses the story to generate solutions to their own problems. The fairy tale thus enables the child to face problems rather than escape them.

“When unconscious material is to some degree permitted to come to awareness and worked through in imagination, its potential for causing harm—to ourselves or others—is much reduced; some of its forces can then be made to serve positive purposes.”

Bettelheim overturns the contemporary trend of trying to protect children from the worst of human experience; he argues that it is essential for children to address their taboos. When taboos appear in the imaginative form of literature, they can be safely worked through; whereas if they are repressed, they have more potential to cause harm. In stating that the “forces” of the unconscious can be useful, Bettelheim also encourages the controlling parent to not fear this more obscure side to their child.