Bruno Bettelheim A study on fairy tales and

Bruno Bettelheim A study on fairy tales and reality Taylor Glass Child Growth and Development March 6, 2021

Bruno Bettelheim Born in Vienna, Austria in 1903 Attended the University of Vienna He was imprisoned in a concentration camp in Dachau and Buchenwald from 1938 -1939 In 1944 he took over direction of the Orthogenic School in Chicago Committed suicide at 86 in Silver Spring, Maryland (1990)

A fascination with fairytales “Once upon a time…” Moral education Reading fairytales Reality vs. Fantasy

The Study ² Bettelheim’s position on fairytales ² The relationship between fairytales and reality Questions: ² Are children – ages 4 and 5 – able to discern the difference between that which is fantasy and that which is real? ² Do Children know that events such as stealing, royalty, and sadness are real? ² If the fairy tale is perceived as a fairy tale, what elements does the child identify as fantasy?

Hypothesis The children, despite their young age, will be able to differentiate between reality and fantasy in The Princess and the Pea. I also believe the girls will be more inclined to chose fantasy over reality whereas the boys will choose reality over fantasy.

The Story: Hans Christian Andersen’s: The Princess and the Pea

The Interview ² ARE THERE REAL PRINCES AND PRINCESSES IN THE WORLD? ² NO - believe princes and princesses are merely fantasy (0 pts) ² YES - understood that some countries still have princes and princesses (1 pt) REALITY

The Interview ² WHERE DO THE PRINCES AND PRINCESSES LIVE? ² SOMEWHERE magical, make-believe, or fantastical (0 pts) ² SOME place not really in existence but is possible to exist in reality (1 pt) ² WHERE we live currently [also castles or Disneyworld] (2 pts) ² COUNTRIES outside where we live that house actual princes or princesses (3 pts) REALITY

The Interview ² DO PEOPLE GET SAD WHEN THEY ARE ALONE? ² NO – cannot differentiate feelings of the prince from emotions in the real world (0 pts) ² YES – understand that the prince is sad without his princess and that this feeling is real (1 pt) REALITY

The Interview ² CAN YOU FEEL A SMALL, TINY PEA UNDERNEATH 20 MATTRESSES? ² YES – with an elaborate explanation filled with fantastical content (0 pts) ² YES – reasoning is more plausible but still too far-fetched for reality (1 pt) ² NO – reasoning does not support their answer (2 pts) ² NO – confirms realistic view of the pea in relation to the 20 mattresses (3 pts) FANTASY

The Interview ² CAN SLEEPING ON A PEA GIVE YOU BRUISES? ² YES – do not understand that the delicacy of a pea could only hurt a princess in the realm of a fairytale (0 pts) ² NO – understand that peas cannot bruise human skin, especially under mattresses (1 pt) FANTASY

The Interview ² DO PEOPLE STEAL THINGS? ² NO – Theft and stealing do not happen in reality only in stories and fairytales (0 pts) ² YES – theft and stealing are represented in fairy tales but also occur in reality (1 pt) REALITY

The Interview ² DO PEOPLE BECOME HAPPY WHEN THEY ARE MARRIED AND HAVE A FAMILY? ² NO – cannot differentiate feelings of the prince from emotions in the real world (0 pts) ² YES – understand that the prince is happy with his princess and that this feeling is real (1 pt) REALITY

The Interview ² IS THIS STORY A FAIRY TALE OR IS IT REAL? ² REAL – answer is not relevant (0 pts) ² FANTASY – answer is not relevant (1 pts) ² REAL – indicates that some make believe themes exist but it is mostly true (2 pts) ² FANTASY – indicates that some real themes exist but it is mostly make believe

Results: Q 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4 Q 5 Q 6 Q 7 Q 8 Earned Total Girl #8 1 pt 0 pts 1 pt 0 pts 4 pts 14 Girl #6 0 pts 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts 1 pt 4 pts 14 Girl #3 1 pt 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts 6 pts 14 Boy #1 1 pt 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts 1 pt 1 pt 7 pts 14 Boy #2 0 pts 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts 1 pt 1 pt 7 pts 14 Girl #9 1 pt 2 pts 0 pts 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts 7 pts 14 Girl #2 1 pt 2 pts 0 pts 1 pt 8 pts 14 Girl #5 1 pt 2 pts 0 pts 1 pt 0 pts 8 pts 14 Girl #4 1 pt 2 pts 1 pt 3 pts 0 pts 1 pt 9 pts 14 Girl#1 1 pt 2 pts 0 pts 1 pt 1 pt 2 pts 9 pts 14 Boy #3 1 pt 2 pts 1 pt 3 pts 1 pt 1 pt 0 pts 14 Girl #7 1 pt 2 pts 1 t 1 pt 0 pts 1 pt 3 pts 10 pts 14

Conclusions: My hypothesis was correct. 75% of the class was able to determine what was real and what was fantasy at least 50% of the time. The most frequently missed question was “Can sleeping on a pea give you bruises all over your body” dealing with a fantastical element of the story. It was missed by 6 girls and only 1 boy. Supporting my hypothesis that girls lean toward the fantasy. BETTELHEIM WAS RIGHT!!!!

Evaluation ² NEEDED MORE THAN 14 PARTICIPANTS ² NEEDED MORE THAN 3 BOYS ² CHILDREN WEREN’T GOING TO TELL A STRANGER EVERYTHING YET, NEEDED MORE TIME TO WARM UP. ² STORY WAS PRINTED, THERE WERE NO PICTURES TO HELP KEEP ATTENTION ² SOME VOCABULARY MAY HAVE BEEN TO HARD FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE FULL QUESTION.

Works Cited ² Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. XXIII, no. 1/2, 1993, p. 85 -100. ©UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2000 ² Andersen, Hans Christian. (1945). Andersen’s Fairy Tales. New York: Grossey & Dunlap Publishers. ² Bottligheimer, Ruth B. (19870. Grimms’ Bad Girls and Bold Boys: The Moral Social Vision of the Tales. New Haven and London: Yale Univeristy Press. ² Todorov, Tzetan. (1975). The Fantastic: A Structureal Approach to a Literary Genre. Ithaka, New York. Cornell University Press. ² http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bruno_Bettelheim ² Ford, Julienne. 1975). Paradigm and Fairy Tales. London and Bost. Rouledge and Kegan Paul. ² Bettelheim, Bruno. (1982). On Learning to Read: The Child’s Fascination with Meaning, New York. Alfred A. Knopf. ² Luthi, Max. (1970). Once Upon A Time on the Nature of Fairytales. New York. Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. ² Von Franz, Marie-Louise. (1974). . Shadow and Evil in Fairytales. Zurich, Switzerland. Spring Publications. ² Bettelheim, Bruno. (1977). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairytales. Toronto, Canada. Alfred A. Knopf Inc. ² Crain, William. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. New Jersey. Pearson Education Inc.