GER 1791 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Sigmund Freud, Magical Thinking, Gilles De Rais
Document Summary
Introducing fairy tales to children at a young age has been a strategy used by many adults as a means to inform, educate, and/or entertain them. Fairy tales contain themes, symbols, and messages that are deeply layered in our perception of society, sexuality and gender roles. Children at this development stage are perceived as cognitive aliens . Fairy tales offer new dimensions to the child"s imagination. The form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he/she can structure his daydreams and with them give better directions to his/her life. In childhood the unconscious is a powerful determinant of behaviour. The repression of unconscious leads to the severely crippled personality. When it is permitted (to some degree) and worked through imagination, its potential for causing harm is reduced. Many parents believe that only conscious reality or pleasant and wish- fulfilling should be presented to the child.
