Fairy tales and archetypes in the development of children

[floatingbridge]

I thought this was very interesting, and I'd like to discuss it further. It's a common theme in our society that children should be sheltered from the "bad" and only taught the "good." Opinions?

In grade four, when the Harry Potter phenomenon hit the world...my aunt 'shielded' her son away from the craze from induced fear in his school playground where another harry potter fan had tried to 'practice' witchcraft on the other kids...me? I just enjoyed the book.

 

[DefectiveCreative]

I too am very curious about what particular literature you are studying. My mother read to us every night, frequently from The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. her especial favorite was a story entitled "The Snow Queen" (or maybe "The Ice Queen") about a girl who somehow gets a sliver of ice in her heart and comes under the dominion of either the Snow or Ice Queen, leaving behind all those she loves, including her best friend who lives next door and doesn't understand the change in her at first. I think he eventually does--the story is a little fuzzy in my mind at this late stage--and risks his own life to go to the Ice Queen's realm to rescue his friend. As I remember it, it is his love of his friend that melts the sliver of ice in her heart and frees her from the Ice Queen.

Other way around, it's the boy who gets a sliver of ice in his heart and the girl who saves him.

 

[anica]

Other way around, it's the boy who gets a sliver of ice in his heart and the girl who saves him.

You sure? Well, you've probably heard/read it a lot more recently than I have. Thanks for the correction.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

Very interested in this topic. Could you list some of the works you are reading in the course?

I'm listing some of these from memory, so it may be a little off:
In the fairy tale section, we're each reading an analysis of a fairy tale and sharing it with the class -- I'm doing Snow White; others are doing Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, etc.

We're using similar methods to analysis other non-fairy tale works too, including Lord of the Flies, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, etc.

I too am very curious about what particular literature you are studying. My mother read to us every night, frequently from The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. her especial favorite was a story entitled "The Snow Queen" (or maybe "The Ice Queen") about a girl who somehow gets a sliver of ice in her heart and comes under the dominion of either the Snow or Ice Queen, leaving behind all those she loves, including her best friend who lives next door and doesn't understand the change in her at first. I think he eventually does--the story is a little fuzzy in my mind at this late stage--and risks his own life to go to the Ice Queen's realm to rescue his friend. As I remember it, it is his love of his friend that melts the sliver of ice in her heart and frees her from the Ice Queen.

I think my mother read that story so often was because it was her story. I believe she was wounded somehow (the ice sliver) when she was young and she waited all her life for someone to rescue her with love and it never happened. Maybe this is all psychobabble, but that's what came to mind as I read this thread.

I don't believe I'm familiar with that story. We're mostly working with classic stories and the ones that follow the Grimm stories, but this sort of analysis would probably apply to those as well. Stories that follow with someone strongly in childhood and into adulthood often have a deeper meaning -- at least on the subconscious level. That's what I've come to believe, anyways.

 

[Barnabas]

How to shelter child from society? Maybe to show him what is good and evil?
In my opinion darkness is good place to hide yourself, and it is not a place where are all your sins.
All fairy tails and stories are made by people experience, it should be understood, not hidden. It is the same like when you understand that all the darkness in you was just a lack of a light.

be wary of hiding in the dark, it may not be sinful, But it is sin's safari.