What effects exactly do fairy tales have on children? In some stories, how come it is okay to get away with murder and still be the good guy? In “The Struggle For Meaning,” Bruno Bettelheim explains the psychoanalytical effect of fairy tales on children going through changes and struggles of growing up. Bettelheim provides analysis on how fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel offer children with support such as getting rid of separation anxiety and death anxiety, thematically prevalent in many stories. Separation anxiety is the natural unease a child feels when separated from a parental figure and death anxiety is the fear of death and detachment. While Bettelheim successfully describes how fairy tales provide a way for children to subconsciously battle their inner anxieties, more can be said about these developmental effects through the story of Hansel and Gretel. Bettelheim delves into the psychoanalytical aspect of fairy tales and their impact on the growth of children. He first introduces our innate desire to find meaning in life and the role fairy tales play in the lives of children as they attempt to understand this meaning and the world around them. Bettelheim suggests that “literature carries information best” (324), especially fairy tales which “stimulate imagination [and] help to develop intellect and clarify emotions” (325). Fairy tales enrich development subconsciously in children when they are most developmentally vulnerable and, as a result, assess real life situations with moral inclinations. While there are those who oppose the idea of introducing existential dilemmas to children, Bettelheim argues that voicing a polarization of good and bad is crucial to understanding what guidelines to follow and to avoid. Further, Bettelheim describes a different kind of story called amoral fairy tales as possessing no clear polarization in characters or theme but rather “giving child the hope that even the meekest can succeed in life” (329). The Grimm Brothers’ adaptation of Hansel and Gretel has qualities of an amoral story because of the questionable actions of seemingly moral characters. Hansel and Gretel live with their parents with little to survive which calls for desperate measures. As a result, their mother plans with her husband to rid of Hansel and Gretel in the woods so that they did not know they were purposely abandoned. The father, however, while he is obligated to abide by his wife’s wicked decision to leave their children, hesitates because he still loves his them. As a reader, therefore, it is difficult to determine whether or not he serves as a good or bad character. It is difficult also, to classify Hansel and Gretel as completely moral. After they cannot find their way back home, Hansel and Gretel happen upon a seemingly pleasant woman who lures them into her house by taking advantage of their hunger. We find out later that this woman has no good intentions and prepares Hansel and Gretel for her next meal. Although they were threatened to get eaten by the witch, Gretel cunningly took it upon her own hands to push the witch to her ironic death. This further supports
Bettelheim’s argument that “morality is not the issue in [amoral] tales, but rather, assurance that one can succeed” (329). Such actions taken by the protagonist can confuse the reader, but wholly teaches that it is the successful end results that truly matter. Both the children and the father, despite his decision to listen to his wicked wife, have a happy ending together due to an ultimate level of success. Everyone has an innate fear of both separation and death. According to Bettelheim, fairy tales help children master these fears. While Hansel and Gretel experience the cruel abandonment from their parents, they overcome this obstacle by sticking together. Bettelheim states that “forming a true interpersonal relation, one escapes the separation anxiety which haunts him” (330). Hansel and Gretel, by forming an “interpersonal relation,” were able to get by on their own and discover autonomy, without the help of their parents whom they no longer require to survive. What Bettelheim does not mention about Hansel and Gretel, however, is a layered use of situations where characters are faced with these anxieties. Along with the children overcoming separation anxiety from their parents, the two become separated themselves by an evil witch. Overcome by greed after eyeing the house made of entirely of food, they are captured and separated by the old woman. Both of their fates eventually lie in the hands of Gretel who unexpectedly pushes the witch to her death. Hansel and Gretel both have now gone through two instances where they have overcome obstacles by knowing that they have each other’s backs. Prevalent throughout the story, death anxiety has pushed the mother and father to leave their children to fend for themselves and also impelled the children to approach the delicious looking house and, thus, encounter the evil witch. Fueled by greed, each party experienced the fear of death and received some sort of punishment. The mother and the witch who both perish in the end, because of this negative consequence of their actions, urge the reader to avoid feeling the inner fears of death. Even the children, overcome by greed for sustenance, were punished by temporarily becoming the witch’s next meal. The frequent occurrence of conquering these fears parallels the effective method of constantly feeding children information to get them to understand. Fairy tales help shape children in many ways. Taking advantage of a vulnerable yet maturing mind, fairy tales use imaginative and distinctive features to ease children into the struggles of the real world. In Hansel and Gretel, the protagonists are easily relatable and offer young readers insight on what decisions will lead to success and how to deal with inner anxieties. Bettelheim supports the psychoanalytical effect of fairy tales and explains how stories like Hansel and Gretel “speak to [the child] […] and encourage development” (326).