What Fairy Tales Teach About Life

 

“…the fairy tale is the great mother of the novel, and has even more universal validity than the most-avidly read novel of your time. And you know that what has been on everyone’s lips for millennia, though repeated endlessly, still comes nearest to the ultimate human truth.” ~ Carl Jung, Red Book

Many people think of fairy tales as stories for children. But according to Carl Jung, they are also a rich source of wisdom regarding the human condition. Jung’s friend and colleague Marie Louise von Franz spent much of her career studying fairy tales, and she discovered that the themes of these stories can help us understand the nature of our psyche and cope with the timeless challenges of human existence.

The contents of our mind, according to Jung, are not solely the product of personal experience. Rather, in addition to personal elements, such as our memories and idiosyncratic aspects of our personality, there is a collective stratum of the psyche which is shared by all of humanity and which Jung called the collective unconscious. This realm is composed of inherited patterns of psychological functioning known as archetypes. The archetypes shape the way we perceive the environment and other people, influence our emotional states, and motivate us to take certain courses of action and to abstain from others. Because they dwell in the unconscious, archetypes cannot be observed directly — their existence is revealed through the symbolic images and motifs that they produce in consciousness. Or as Jung explained:

“Archetypes, so far as we can observe and experience them at all, manifest themselves only through their ability to organize images and ideas, and this is always an unconscious process which cannot be detected until afterwards.” ~ Carl Jung, Collected Works Volume 8

Religious symbols are among the richest sources of archetypal activity. But because they arise in specific cultural epochs and are interpreted through its moral systems and the institutions that govern a religion, the messages of these symbols are often distorted. Fairy tales, in contrast, remain largely free of such cultural distortion. As they were born from the imagination of ordinary people, passed down through oral tradition, and not bound to institutions or used as instruments of power, fairy tales preserve the archetypal patterns of the psyche in a purer form. Or as von Franz explains:

“In myths or religions, or any other more elaborate mythological material, we get at the basic patterns of the human psyche through an overlay of cultural material. But in fairy tales there is much less specific conscious cultural material, and therefore they mirror the basic patterns of the psyche more clearly.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales.

Along with being largely free of cultural distortion, fairy tales, in contrast to dreams, which are another source of archetypal symbols, are untouched by personal factors. The archetypal imagery that appears in dreams is often mixed with the dreamer’s desires, conflicts, and neuroses, but fairy tales have been collectively stripped of such personal material. As they are passed from generation to generation, and spread from culture to culture, only the elements of the fairy tale that have universal human resonance endure, while personal additions fade away. Or as von Franz writes:

“A fairy tale is not the tale of a personal experience. Fairy tales normally come into existence in one of two ways. Some fairy tales, as far as we can trace them, are created by people who had parapsychological or dreamlike or visionary experiences. They relate these again and again, and then these experiences become enlarged in the community into stories. The other way fairy tales come into existence is the same way as literature does…The tales originate in what you could call the active imaginations of certain individuals in the folk population. In both cases, whether the nucleus of a fairy tale was a visionary experience, a big dream or a parapsychological experience, or whether it came originally from some folk poet or storyteller, it was something that had to fit the psyche of the whole collective. Otherwise it would not have endured.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

Reflecting on how fairy tales reveal the universal patterns and dynamics of the psyche, and point to timeless truths of the human condition, von Franz explains:

“By the collective unconscious we mean that part of man’s unconscious psyche which, regardless of all the differences between individuals, remains the same in all men and women, just as certain aspects of the anatomical structure of Homo sapiens are the same in all individuals precisely because they are human. Since fairy tales throughout the world disclose certain common themes and structures, we may assume that they spring from this most universal substrate of the human psyche. They might be termed the dreams of humankind, sprung from the deepest layers of the unconscious… What we might find in fairy tales is the guidelines of an ethos of the unconscious, that is, of nature itself.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche

The fact that fairy tales arise from the deepest layers of the psyche helps explain one of their most curious features: the abstract and impersonal nature of their characters. Unlike the heroes of myth, who wrestle with inner conflicts and whose deeds are charged with emotion, fairy tale characters pass through their ordeals without introspection or feeling. Their actions unfold with a stark simplicity that can seem strangely detached from ordinary human experience. As von Franz observes:

“…fairy tale figures are very abstract. They have very few personal traits. Was the young man afraid? Was he angry with the troll? Was he pleased when he got the princess? Not a word! All that is said is that a young man does this, he does that, and becomes a king. That’s terribly impersonal, really.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

This absence of psychological depth is not a flaw, but a clue to what these stories represent. Fairy tale figures portray the processes, patterns, and archetypes of the collective unconscious. The peasant who defeats a witch, the princess who loses her golden ball, the fool who becomes a king – these are not personal narratives but symbolic enactments of the psyche’s unconscious dynamics. Or as von Franz writes:

“From the standpoint of Jungian psychology, we may say that fairy tales do not recount consciously experienced human events, but that these “pure forms” make visible fundamental archetypal structures of the collective unconscious. This accounts for the nonhuman or, abstract character of the figures; they are archetypal images behind which the secret of the unconscious psyche is hidden.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche

One of the psychological processes reflected in countless fairy tales is what Jung called the process of individuation.

“In fairy tales, too, we find all the elements of the process of individuation, or sequences that are clearly parallel to what we can observe in the process of individuation of humans.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

Individuation is the inner journey toward psychological wholeness and it entails integrating unconscious elements of the psyche into conscious awareness, and in the process, becoming a more self-actualized and complete individual. As is revealed in countless fairy tales, individuation is often set in motion by a crisis, disruption, or challenge that upends the established order of life. In fairy tales, this is depicted as a kingdom in decay, a precious jewel gone missing, or a dark power spreading through the land. And as von Franz observed:

“When the fairy tale begins, it is always the king who is ill, or his daughter is making mischief, or he can’t find a follower; he’s become evil, or the devil has attacked him or stolen his son. Something is always wrong with the king. The story begins always with a state of imbalance, and balance has to be restored through a compensatory process.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales.

Psychologically, the beginning of these fairy tales represent those moments in life when we face seemingly insoluble conflicts — an addiction, a broken relationship, and existential crisis, or the loss of a loved one. Fairy tales teach us that such moments of despair often mark the beginning of transformation. So long as we find the moral courage to endure our suffering rather than fleeing from it, or numbing ourselves to it, eventually a deeper intelligence within the psyche — which Jung called the Self, or “the God within” – guides us toward a solution that transcends our conscious ego’s limited perspective.

In fairy tales, the Self often appears symbolically as a wise old man, a helpful animal, or another benevolent figure that offers aid in times of crisis. “…the Self is the center of the self-regulating system of the psyche, on which the welfare of the individual depends… the Self makes an appearance in nearly all fairy tales.”, explains von Franz. And as she continues:

“Jung said that to be in a situation where there is no way out or to be in a conflict where there is no solution is the classical beginning of the process of individuation. It is meant to be a situation without solution: the unconscious wants the hopeless conflict in order to put ego consciousness up against the wall, so that the man has to realize that whatever he does is wrong, whichever way he decides will be wrong. This is meant to knock out the superiority of the ego, which always acts from the illusion that it has the responsibility of decision. Naturally, if a man says, “Oh well, then I shall just let everything go and make no decision, but just protract and wriggle out everywhere,” the whole thing is equally wrong, for then naturally nothing happens. But if he is ethical enough to suffer to the core of his personality, then generally, because of the insolubility of the conscious situation, the Self manifests. In religious language you could say that the situation without issue is meant to force the man to rely on an act of God.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

The fairy tale of the Three Snake Leaves provides portrays this situation. In this tale, a poor man saves the life of a king’s daughter, and in gratitude she agrees to marry him. Before their wedding, she makes him promise that if she dies first, he will be buried alive with her. Not long after the wedding, she falls ill and dies. Bound by his vow, the young man is buried alive, condemned to a slow death in darkness and silence.

But then a snake crawls into the tomb. The man kills it, but another soon arrives, carrying three green leaves. The second snake places the leaves on the first, and miraculously, the dead creature comes to life. Seeing this, the young man places the leaves on the princess and she, too, is restored to life. Together, they escape the tomb and return to life.

The man’s burial represents the ego trapped in an impossible “no way out” situation which the conscious mind is helpless to resolve. Yet it is in this total hopelessness that renewal begins. The man killing the snake represents an act of moral courage that initiates the transformation; while the snake, an image of instinct, and the three leaves, symbols of vitality and rebirth, reveal the psyche’s capacity to heal itself. And as von Franz writes:

“…a man has arrived at a cul de sac that he doesn’t know how to get out of. And that, as Jung pointed out, is typically the beginning of the individuation process. It is as if the unconscious arranges a complete failure for those it has called to become heroes and achieve higher consciousness or some specific inner task.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

Simply reading a fairy tale, without attempting to interpret its deeper meaning, can have a healing effect.

“…fairy tales give expression to unconscious processes, and their retelling causes these processes to come alive again and be recollected, thereby re-establishing the connection between conscious and unconscious.” ~ Carl Jung, Aion

Or as von Franz explained:

“Such stories are healing because they express…the compensatory processes in the collective unconscious that balance the one-sidedness, the sickness, the constant deviations of human consciousness. And these stories have this healing effect although there is no attempt to understand them. They are simply told.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

One reason fairy tales have a healing effect, even when their psychological significance is not understood, is because of our tendency to identify with the psychological process that the characters represent. The emotional rhythm of the fairy tale mirrors the patterns and processes of our psyche, and this stimulates courage and hope, and reminds us of life’s ever-present possibilities. This process of identification occurs in adults as well as in children, though it is most vividly seen in the latter. As von Franz writes:

“When you tell fairy tales to children, they at once and naively identify and get all the feeling of the story. If you tell them about the poor little duck, all the children who have inferiority complexes hope that in the end they too will get a princess. That functions exactly as it should; it gives a model for living, an encouraging, vivifying model which reminds one unconsciously of all life’s positive possibilities.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

But the wisdom contained in fairy tales is more richly mined when we interpret the symbols contained within them, as such symbols, in the words of Jung, are “transformers of psychological energy.” They are living mediators between the conscious and unconscious, capable of releasing blocked energy, restoring the natural rhythms of the psyche, dissolving inner division, and guiding the psyche towards wholeness. Or as Jung explained:

“…the symbol functions as a “means of attaining the Other Shore,” in other words, as a means of transformation…the symbol acts as a transformer of energy…The union of opposites on a higher level of consciousness is not a rational thing, nor is it a matter of will; it is a process of psychic development that is stimulated by symbols.” ~ Carl Jung; Collected Works 11 and 13

The dark forest, for example, is symbolic of descent into the unknown or times we feel lost. The king symbolizes the organizing or self-regulating principle of the psyche, and when he is wounded or ill, it signals a disruption to our psyche. The marriage of the king and queen is symbolic of the reconciliation of opposites and the establishment of harmony between the conscious and unconscious mind. The lost treasure, precious jewel, or golden ball, symbolizes the forgotten wholeness of our personality that awaits rediscovery. And as von Franz writes:

"In his talk given in 1939, “The Symbolic Life.”, Jung says that we are now all caught in rationalism and that our rational outlook on life includes being reasonable and that this reasonableness excludes all symbolism. He goes on to show how much richer life is for people still embedded in the living symbolism of their [fairy tales, myths, and religions].” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

In an age when religious myths have lost much of their appeal, fairy tales serve an important spiritual function. Like religions, they express archetypal truths, but unlike religions, they do so without demanding supernatural beliefs. Fairy tales thus preserve, in an accessible form, a living link between consciousness and the unconscious which facilitates psychological renewal and the process of individuation. Or as von Franz tells us:

"We read in Plato’s writings that old women told their children symbolic stories— mythoi. Even then fairy tales were connected with the education of children….But we have even older information, because fairy tales have also been found in Egyptian papyri and stelai…Until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, fairy tales were— as they still are in remote primitive centers of civilization—told to adults as well as to children. In Europe they used to be the chief form of wintertime entertainment. In agricultural populations, telling fairy tales became a kind of essential, spiritual occupation…It was a religious search for something which seemed lacking in official Christian teaching that first induced the famous brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm to collect folktales.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

from academyofideas.com on November 18, 2025