What are folk tales?
Popular stories are extraordinary narratives, usually brief, transmitted by oral tradition, that relate imaginary events where the characters are not only humans but also fantastic creatures (goblins, giants…) and even animals that speak and reason. The stories usually come in multiple versions and although they coincide in their structure, they differ in the accessory details and even in the outcome depending on the country or region where they are told.
Just as happens in the world of dreams, the adventures narrated in children’s stories transcend time and space.
In many cases, the authors of these stories are unknown, although they are usually attributed to writers who carried out the task of compiling these short stories, intended to be told to children and which have been transmitted from generation to generation throughout the centuries.
Many of the classic stories come mainly from the following works:
- The “Stories and tales of yesteryear”, better known as the “Mother Goose Tales”, a book published in 1697 by the Frenchman Charles Perrault, who gave literary form to several classic children’s stories. One of the characteristics of Perrault’s stories is that at the end of each story, a moral or teaching is included that refers to and serves as a moral conclusion to the content of the story. The source of these stories is popular tradition.
- The “Stories of childhood and home” by the German Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm)—published between 1812 and 1822—have the fundamental characteristic of being the first compilation and transcription of the most popular oral tradition tales in Europe. They are better known as:The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and his great merit was maintaining the original character of the stories, preserving the vividness and popular freshness by renouncing the temptation to do a literary reworking with them.
- The “Fairy tales” by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, are a large collection of fairy tales – 168 stories – published between 1835 and 1872. It includes the author’s own stories such as The ugly Duckling, The little Mermaid, The lead soldiereither The brave little tailor. Despite the belief that they are a transcription of anonymous popular stories, all of these stories are the work of Andersen’s imagination. These stories are set in places where reality merges with fantasy and in which stories emerge (generally endowed with a certain sense of humor) in which feelings have a predominant value. The protagonists are, generally, everyday characters (Thumbelina either The Brave Little Tailor)animals (The ugly Duckling), or animated objects (The Tin Soldier).
The therapeutic function of children’s stories
When referring to the therapeutic function of children’s stories We do it based on two aspects:
- Stories reflect children’s experiences, thoughts and feelings.
- Stories help the child overcome his emotional ties through a symbolic language appropriate to the singularities of his Psyche, and they affect all the stages—periods or phases—that take place throughout childhood.
When the child reads or listens to a popular story, he puts the power of his fantasy into play and, in the best of cases, achieves identification by recognizing himself in the central character, in his adventures and in the solution of difficulties. that get in your way.
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Stories allow children to work with their internal conflicts and that is why, very frequently, they often ask the adult to tell them the same story over and over again, since it is through repetition that they can make sense of it and elaborate it until close the story by drawing their own conclusions—or teaching—while encouraging and exercising their imagination and creativity.
Bruno Bettelheim: “Psychoanalysis of fairy tales”
Bruno Bettelheim ((1903-1990)) was an Austrian psychologist and psychoanalyst who dedicated much of his life to directing, at the University of Chicago, a section that served as a home for emotionally disturbed children. He wrote books about the normal and abnormal psychology of children and was especially interested in autism.