Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales Marie-Louise Von Franz
Also by Marie-Louise von Franz in this Series: The Psychological Meaning of Redemption Motifs in Fairy Tales On Divination and Synchronicity: The Psychology of Meaningful Chance Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology
Canadian Cataloging in Publication Data Franz, Marie-Louise von, 1915-Archetypal patterns in fairy tales (Studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts; 76) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-919123-77-5 1. Fairy tales Psychological aspects. 2. Archetype (Psychology). 3. Psychoanalysis and folklore. 4. Fairy tales History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. GR550.F68 1997 398'.2'01'9 C97-930675-2 Copyright © 1997 by Marie-Louise von Franz. All rights reserved. INNER CITY BOOKS Box 1271, Station Q, Toronto, Canada M4T 2P4 Telephone (416) 927-0355 Fax (416) 924-1814 E-mail:
[email protected] Honorary Patron: Marie-Louise von Franz. Publisher and General Editor: Daryl Sharp. Senior Editor: Victoria Cowan.
INNER CITY BOOKS was founded in 1980 to promote the understanding and practical application of the work of C.G. Jung. Cover: "Table-top Globe," monoprint by Vicki Cowan, © 1997. Index by Daryl Sharp. Printed and bound in Canada by University of Toronto Press
Marie-Louise von Franz (photo by Edwin Snyder)
Preface This book is a collection of fairy tale interpretations which I presented in a series of lectures in 1974 at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich. I did not want to focus around a specific theme but rather to wander through many countries and many types of fairy tales. I chose some that challenged me because they were not the usual type. I wanted to show their diversity and also their underlying similar trends, so that one could appreciate what is nationally or racially specific and what is common to all civilizations and all human beings. I wanted to show how Jung's method of interpreting archetypal fantasy material could be applied to these diverse tales. This approach applied especially to the "little joke" story ("The Blade of Straw, the Coal, and the Bean") but it was also true for the others. It is up to the reader to judge if it works or not. The bases of the text are tapes. Only with the invaluable help of Dr. Vivienne Mackrell was I able to make it a readable text. My heartiest thanks go to her and to Barbara Smith who typed the first text from the tapes. MARIE-LOUISE VON FRANZ, KÜSNACHT FEBRUARY 1997
Chapter 1 The Princess with the Twelve Pairs of Golden Shoes (Danish) The first fairy tale, from Denmark, is called "The Princess with the Twelve Pairs of Golden Shoes."[1] It goes like this: There was once a young man who went out into the world to find his luck. On his way he met an old man who begged him for some money. The young man said, "I have no money, but I will certainly share my food with you." And the old man accepted, so they sat under a tree and the young man distributed his food. When they had eaten, the old man said, "You have shared with me what you have; now I will give you in return this stick and this ball which will bring you luck. If you lift the stick before you, you will become invisible. And when you hit the ball with the stick, the ball will roll before you and show you where you should go." The young man thanked him for the gift, threw the ball to the ground and hit it with the stick, and the ball quickly rolled ahead of him. It rolled and rolled until he came to a big town. Here he discovered that on the wall surrounding the town, there were many heads stuck up on display cut-off human heads! He asked a man he met what the matter was. The man told him that there a great worry in this country because every night the princess of the cou