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Bruno Bettelheim

Bruno Bettelheim Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous Bruno Bettelheim Quotes

“The myth of Oedipus . . . arouses powerful intellectual and emotional reactions in the adult-so much so, that it may provide a cathartic experience, as Aristotle taught all tragedy does. [A reader] may wonder why he is so deeply moved; and in responding to what he observes as his emotional reaction, ruminating about the mythical events and what these mean to him, a person may come to clarify his thoughts and feelings. With this, certain inner tensions which are the consequence of events long past may be relieved; previously unconscious material can then enter one's awareness and become accessible for conscious working through. This can happen if the observer is deeply moved emotionally by the myth, and at the sametime strongly motivated intellectually to understand it.”

StoriesTragedySelf AwarenessMeaningMythsCatharsis
Book:The uses of enchantment: the meaning and importance of fairy tales
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“Fairy tales are loved by the child not because the imagery he finds in them conforms to what goes on within him, but because--despite all the angry, anxious thoughts in his mind to which the fairy tale gives body and specific content--these stories always result in a happy outcome, which the child cannot imagine on his own.”

GivingMindChildrenStoriesBodyResultsImagineGoes OnAngryTalesDespiteOutcomesFairyAnxiousFairy TaleConformImageryAnxious Thoughts
Author:Bruno Bettelheim
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“A child... who has learned from fairy stories to believe that what at first seemed a repulsive, threatening figure can magically change into a most helpful friend is ready to believe that a strange child whom he meets and fears may also be changed from a menace into a desirable companion.”

FirstsBelieveMayChildrenStoriesLiteratureFiguresChangedStrangeReadyFairyHelpfulCompanionThreateningDesirableMenaceChildren's LiteratureFairy Stories
Book:The uses of enchantment: the meaning and importance of fairy tales
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