p.4 only hope for the future can sustain us in the adversities we unavoidably encounter.
p.7 the form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he can structure his daydreams
and with them give better direction to his life.
p.11 The fairy tale is future-oriented and guides the child - in terms he can understand
in both his conscious and unconscious mind
p.35 Plato - who may have understood better what forms the mind of man than do some of
our contemporaries who want their children exposed only to "real" people and everyday events - knew what intellectual experiences
make for true humanity. He suggested that the future citizens of his ideal republic begin their literary education
with the telling of myths, rather than with mere facts or so-called rational teachings. Even Aristotle,
master of pure reason, said: "The friend of wisdom is also a friend of myth."
p.39 At this age, from four until puberty, what the child needs most is to be presented with symbolic
images which reassure him that there is a happy solution to his... problems... reassurance about a happy outcome has to come
first, because only then will the child have the courage to labor confidently to extricate himself from his... predicament.
In childhood, more than any other age, all is becoming.
p.40 Though the fairy tale offers fantastic symbolic images for the solution of problems, the problems presented
in them are ordinary ones
p.42 [In the story of the three little pigs] Only the third and oldest pig has learned
to behave in accordance with the reality principle: he is able to postpone his desire to play, and instead acts in
line with his ability to foresee what may happen in the future. He is even able to predict correctly the
behavior of the wolf... therefore the third pig is able to defeat powers both stronger and more ferocious than he is.
p.45 The fairy tale proceeds in a manner which conforms to the way a child thinks and experiences the world;
this is why the fairy tale is so convincing to him... A child trusts what the fairy tale tells, because its world view accords
with his own.
Whatever our age, only a story conforming to the principles underlying our thought processes
carries conviction for us.... [the child's] thinking is animistic.
p.47-48 realistic explanations are usually incomprehensible to children, because they lack the abstract
understanding required to make sense of them.
p.48 to feel secure on earth, the child needs to believe that this world is held firmly in place. Therefore
he finds a better explanation in a myth that tells him that the earth rests on a turtle, or is held up by a giant.
p.73 While fairy tales invariably point the way to a better future, they concentrate on the process
of change, rather than describing the exact details of the bliss eventually to be gained. The stories start
where the child is at the time, and suggest where he has to go - with emphasis on the process itself.
p.119 Freud said that thought is an exploration of possibilities which avoids all the dangers inherent
in actual experimentation. Thought requires a small expenditure of energy, so we have energy available for action
after we have reached decisions through speculating about the chances for success and the best way to achieve it. This
is true for adults; for example, the scientist "plays with ideas" before he starts to explore them more systematically.
p.125 Only exaggerated hopes and fantasies of future achievements can balance the scales so that
the child can go on living and striving.
p.125 As soon as the child is able to imagine (that is, to fantasize) a favorable solution to his present
predicament, temper tantrums disappear - because with hope for the future established, the present difficulty is no
longer insufferable... disappointment in the present is mitigated by visions of future victories.
p.126 While the fantasy is unreal, the good feelings it gives us about ourselves and our
future are real, and these real good feelings are what we need to sustain us... by telling his child fairy
tales, the parent can encourage him to borrow for his private use fantastic hopes for the future, without misleading him by
suggesting that there is reality to such imaginings.
p.133 the child's... unrealistic fears require unrealistic hopes... realistic and limited
promises are experienced as deep disappointment, not as consolation.
p.155 The fairy story communicates to the child an intuitive, subconscious understanding of his own nature
and of what his future may hold if he develops his positive potentials... In fairy tales, internal processes are translated
into visual images.
p.179 fairy tales... should be viewed as symbolic renderings of crucial life experiences.
