Bruno Bettelheim, author of “’Cinderella: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts”, writes on the changes and thought processes of a child and how they relate to the timeless character of Cinderella. Bettelheim believes that through the conscious and subconscious thoughts of a child, a child can relate to Cinderella. Bettelheim maintains that a child will relate to the degradation Cinderella feels when in conflict with siblings and parents, also explaining the outcome that arises from such conflicts. He claims that a child will subconsciously feel the dire need to have the absolute love and attention from his parents or parent, by whatever means it takes to receive all of it. He proclaims that because of these accumulating dirty thoughts, …show more content…
Bettelheim relays his argument about sibling rivalry with evidence mostly based on his Freudian way of thinking, and comprehension of his article may be challenging to one who isn’t familiar with this psychological type, such as when he explains how children have incredibly vile thoughts of murder (281). Other ideas on romantic love for a parent and the ridding of parents because of guiltiness may all seem unorthodox to one who doesn’t agree to what Bettelheim is insinuating on these topics. But, also interests in the way it shows a different view on a child’s feelings of jealousy and attention. More supporting evidence from other scholars or writers on these issues to back up Bettelheim’s claims could help with the believability and understanding of what his statements are saying. On the other hand, had Bettelheim used others as references, the relation of sibling rivalry to Cinderella may not have been as vivid or interpreted in a way Bettelheim did not intend. Bettelheim writes specifically to show an outside thought process on Cinderella and her step-sisters, and emphasizes the feelings of jealousy and malice in relation to a child and the child’s siblings. Each statement of his article does generalize to this main topic, helping to better understand the overall meaning of “sibling rivalry”, which is a fascinating topic, despite a possible disagreement of
The children also argue with their mother often. The children think that their mother, with no doubt, will be perfect. They idealize their mothers as angel who will save them from all their problems, which the mothers actually never do. The children get angry at their false hopes and realize that their mothers aren’t going to...
In “The Classic Fairy Tales” by Maria Tator and “Mad Shadows” by Marie-Claire Blais, both texts deal with the idea that suffering and understanding are deeply connected. The authors aim to prove that suffering and understanding go hand in hand in order for change to occur. In “The Classic Fairy Tales”, Beauty and the beast, Snow White and Cinderella, will explore the relation between understanding suffering via transformation, desire, and physical injuries, when compared and contrasted with Mad Shadows.
Have you ever had a sibling that you were jealous of or disliked? In “The Scarlet Ibis” The narrator reminisces about his feeble and sickly brother, their time together, and how he felt about. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, author James Hurst uses Doodle’s brother to show that Doodle’s brother can be kind and cruel to Doodle.
Throughout the criticism, the author bombs the popular folktale story of Cinderella, she states this about Cinderella returning by midnight “...great emphasis on the “midnight” prohibition given to Cinderella. The traditional connotation would, of course, associate it with the paternal mandate of obedience, and a threat: if the heroine does not return to domesticity and docility at regular intervals she may lose her “virtue””. The classic story of Cinderella constantly insinuates that she must be restricted in all aspects of her life. In contrast, the story written by Hurston paints
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
This essay agrees with the sexual developmental conflict theory, rather than social conflict theory in Poe’s short story. It explains how during the 19th century,when it was written, cases on sexual incest were kept quiet and discrete. This secrecy has kept the reader from viewing the old man as a perpetrator as well as a victim even a century and a half after Poe wrote the mysterious tale. This view brought a new perspective on the short story yet, provides excellent details and examples for support.
In the essay: “ ‘Cinderella’: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts”’, Bruno Bettelheim discusses how Cinderella is a story about the difficulties of sibling rivalry and the degraded heroine ending up on top of the siblings that oppressed her. Bettelheim argues that sibling rivalry is created when a child feels that they cannot win their parents love and esteem in comparison to his brothers or sisters. In addition he argues that every child feels that they deserve to be degraded at some point in their life. The concept of Oedipal guilt, his last point, has some intriguing details included in it, concepts of which could be disputed. However, the main focus of this essay is on how children justify the idea that they should be degraded, and because of the hardships they have faced, risen up and exalted like Cinderella was. He states that Cinderella relates very closely to the youth because they feel like they can relate to her situation more than the majority of people could.
Sarcasm, mockery and satire are common themes used throughout “Cinderella”. The reader asks: Why does the author use this style of writing? How do these literary elements enhance the author’s overall theme and tone? Sexton’s use of multiple literary devices demonstrates her beliefs about fairy tales and enables the reader to clearly see the absurdity of such tales. She does not try to make the reader decipher what she wants them to take from the story, she lays it out directly. By the author using her own hyperboles and satire, the reader is able to see the impracticalities of the original story in a different way. The comical remarks made by Sexton such as: “That is the way with amputations. / They don’t just heal up like a wish”, add humor and light-heartedness to the
In conclusion, co-dependency and rivalry is very common in the world today. Though it is not a big issue out in the open, it is an emotional attachment that only one can define. In this short story the two main aspects of having siblings is the theme which revolves around codependency and rivalry. Having siblings is a part of everyday life and problems do occur which sometimes makes a person, or changes a person in ways. In this situation, Pete and Donald are completely different people but they are in fact very dependent upon one another.
A prolific exemplification of the ideal female virtues portrayed in fairy tales is Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper”. Perrault presents the ideal female fairy tale character through his portrayal of Cinderella. Cinderella is a tame and forgiving individual who subjects herself to the will of her father, stepmother and s...
As the world has transformed and progressed throughout history, so have its stories and legends, namely the infamous tale of Cinderella. With countless versions and adaptations, numerous authors from around the world have written this beauty’s tale with their own twists and additions to it. And while many may have a unique or interesting way of telling her story, Anne Sexton and The Brother’s Grimm’s Cinderellas show the effects cultures from different time periods can have on a timeless tale, effects such as changing the story’s moral. While Sexton chooses to keep some elements of her version, such as the story, the same as the Brothers Grimm version, she changes the format and context, and adds her own commentary to transform the story’s
My thesis statement is that children’s innocence enables them to cope in difficult situations. Children generally have a tendency to lighten the mood in sad situations because of their innocent nature. They turn even the saddest situations to mild, innocent situations. This is evident when Marjane says “these stories had given me new ideas for games”, (Satrapi, 55). By saying this she refers to her uncle’s stories of how he and other prisoners were tortured in prison. Stories of torture have never been easy to hear even for adults but Marjane so innocentl...
Nonetheless, this really is a tale of compelling love between the boy and his father. The actions of the boy throughout the story indicate that he really does love his father and seems very torn between his mother expectations and his father’s light heartedness. Many adults and children know this family circumstance so well that one can easily see the characters’ identities without the author even giving the boy and his father a name. Even without other surrounding verification of their lives, the plot, characters, and narrative have meshed together quite well.
It is this element of hope in a true fairytale that creates the support for a protagonist to overcome the opposing force that has been thrust onto them. A genuine fairytale is said to have the element of, “A innocent character [placed against] the evil character who normally loses somehow,” (Gokturk) which is seen as Cinderella is chosen by the prince over the evil step-sisters at the ball. As human beings with a developed moral system, it has been seen that the more deserving, mistreated character is favored to succeed in the story. Cinderella is seen as this “underdog” character in her quest to find love with the prince and overcome her step-sisters’ mistreatment. As Cinderella is mistreated by her new family, sympathy is built for the emerging protagonist and hope of her to conquer her situation follows. The underdog of this story grows in favorability to be picked by the prince due to the societal belief that the more deserving candidate should overcome their opposition. If there was no sense of hope thought the story of Cinderella, this story could not be categorized as a true embodiment of a
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.