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Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts #2
The Psychological Meaning of Redemption Motifs in Fairytales
Nonlinear approach to the significance of fairy tales for an understanding of the process of psychological development. Concise explanations of complexes, projection, archetypes and active imagination. A modern classic.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1980
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368 people want to read
About the author
Marie-Louise von Franz
83 books870 followersMarie-Louise von Franz was a Swiss Jungian psychologist and scholar.
Von Franz worked with Carl Jung, whom she met in 1933 and knew until his death in 1961. Jung believed in the unity of the psychological and material worlds, i.e., they are one and the same, just different manifestations. He also believed that this concept of the unus mundus could be investigated through research on the archetypes of the natural numbers. Due to his age, he turned the problem over to von Franz. Two of her books, Number and Time and Psyche and Matter, deal with this research.
Von Franz, in 1968, was the first to publish that the mathematical structure of DNA is analogous to that of the I Ching. She cites the reference to the publication in an expanded essay "Symbols of the Unus Mundus," published in her book Psyche and Matter. In addition to her many books, Von Franz recorded a series of films in 1987 titled The Way of the Dream with her student Fraser Boa.
Von Franz founded the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. In The Way of the Dream she claims to have interpreted over 65,000 dreams. Von Franz also wrote over 20 volumes on Analytical psychology, most notably on fairy tales as they relate to Archetypal or Depth Psychology, most specifically by amplification of the themes and characters. She also wrote on subjects such as alchemy, discussed from the Jungian, psychological perspective, and active imagination, which could be described as conscious dreaming. In Man and His Symbols, von Franz described active imagination as follows: "Active imagination is a certain way of meditating imaginatively, by which one may deliberately enter into contact with the unconscious and make a conscious connection with psychic phenomena."
Von Franz worked with Carl Jung, whom she met in 1933 and knew until his death in 1961. Jung believed in the unity of the psychological and material worlds, i.e., they are one and the same, just different manifestations. He also believed that this concept of the unus mundus could be investigated through research on the archetypes of the natural numbers. Due to his age, he turned the problem over to von Franz. Two of her books, Number and Time and Psyche and Matter, deal with this research.
Von Franz, in 1968, was the first to publish that the mathematical structure of DNA is analogous to that of the I Ching. She cites the reference to the publication in an expanded essay "Symbols of the Unus Mundus," published in her book Psyche and Matter. In addition to her many books, Von Franz recorded a series of films in 1987 titled The Way of the Dream with her student Fraser Boa.
Von Franz founded the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. In The Way of the Dream she claims to have interpreted over 65,000 dreams. Von Franz also wrote over 20 volumes on Analytical psychology, most notably on fairy tales as they relate to Archetypal or Depth Psychology, most specifically by amplification of the themes and characters. She also wrote on subjects such as alchemy, discussed from the Jungian, psychological perspective, and active imagination, which could be described as conscious dreaming. In Man and His Symbols, von Franz described active imagination as follows: "Active imagination is a certain way of meditating imaginatively, by which one may deliberately enter into contact with the unconscious and make a conscious connection with psychic phenomena."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 7, 2016
How to teach a technique of relating to the world that cannot be categorized or described? Usually you have to go out into the world and have interesting experiences and take the necessary room for it all to settle into something usable. Weirdly, you can also just read a series of extensively annotated fairy tale summaries by von Franz, and by the end of it you won't even know when the transformation happened.
September 20, 2009
Wonderful, insightful, accessible text. Marie-Louise Von Franz is discussing fairytales and so much more. Of course, the primary motif she is discussing is redemption. She sets the tone in the first part of the text by discussing the hero in fairytales and mythologies. She also incorporates tips for analyists in therapy, discussing archetypes of the ego in parallel with events and motifs in fairytales. In fairytales, there is typically a curse and then the need for redemption to have the curse lifted. The variations on this motif address different aspects of the unconscious, modes of redemption, and approaches in analysis. Ultimately, Von Franz shows us the depth and usefulness of fairytales, while discussing important aspects of Jungian psychology.
January 2, 2023
Great analysis
December 12, 2020
The book about Redemption of the prince and princess of their curses.
The interpretation was so deep and in some places I do not know how to connect her writing.
The difference discussed about hero in mystery and fairy tale was good
The redemption in animals and burning their skin are quite understandable because we have seen people who are affected by curse will behave like animals and they tend to behave good in the party and they change as soon as they return home. Burning their skin is like killing them or disappearing from us.
I do not understand some of her interpretations and she gives an explanation that the reader should have symbolic thinking to understand.
May be Yess
The interpretation was so deep and in some places I do not know how to connect her writing.
The difference discussed about hero in mystery and fairy tale was good
The redemption in animals and burning their skin are quite understandable because we have seen people who are affected by curse will behave like animals and they tend to behave good in the party and they change as soon as they return home. Burning their skin is like killing them or disappearing from us.
I do not understand some of her interpretations and she gives an explanation that the reader should have symbolic thinking to understand.
May be Yess
May 25, 2017
There are some bright spots in the book, though overall it is very repetitive from Archetypes; I am not sure which comes first in publication order. Miss von Franz endorses the existentialism of Jung's philosophical thought more so here than elsewhere -- well compared to the two previous books I read by her. This makes for an odd mixture of Jungian thought & "redemption" so basically Jungians re-terming the words, into the more abstract idea of "acknowledgement". The thought is that knowing the problem _is_ the solution, not as Freudians believe, "half the battle."
December 25, 2018
Wonderful read. Having previously read and enjoyed "The Interpretation of Fairy Tales" I had a different expectation in regards to the content of this book. Yes, it does follow the motif of redemption in in fairytales but the major take of this book was the material discussed in regards to what was revealed, which in turn provided a surprisingly deeper insight to the unconscious.
April 19, 2018
Extremely interesting Jungian criticism of fairy tales.
February 8, 2021
Los cuentos de hadas vistos desde una perspectiva jungiana. Una lectura muy interesante para leer con atención y tener siempre a la mano.
December 15, 2021
An understanding of Jungian psychology will be helpful when reading this book as well as a knowledge of fairy tales and symbolic thinking.
August 15, 2023
uns bleibt ein Endenrest, zu tragen peinlich… the remaining wing: the whole can never be integrated!!!
April 13, 2024
Gave me better, more vivid dreams -- and that speaks enough for itself.
Read
June 13, 2025I tried to read this book on two occasions, but fell asleep both times. I think this author unfortunately is not for me not matter how much I like the idea behind her points.
September 4, 2025
Excelente! Talvez meu livro preferido da von Franz até agora. Ela explica várias posturas clínicas importantes.
November 3, 2015
Harry Zeit
Reading von Franz was an inspiring review of some Jungian ideas and wisdom. And a good way to spend more time with her own unique style, intellect and depths.
While discussing redemptive motifs in fairy tales, there are also prescient warnings in these pages (although this is not the primary intent of the author).
Are we possessed by our complexes, or able to reflect upon their content? What happens in our unconscious as we lead increasingly busy and disconnected lives, without the luxury of time to devote to our dreams, our upwellings of emotion? What happens when we become too invested, in a one-sided manner, in the light of the intellect?
There's lots to think about here, and - after completing my reading - I felt more equipped to engage in my own inner work and active imagination, more clear about some of the concepts.
As an added benefit, I will now watch the TV series Once Upon a Time (which is filled with redemption motifs)through more curious eyes - what does this show's popularity tell us about our own era, our disowned archetypes, our need to contact the depths in some form or another?
Reading von Franz was an inspiring review of some Jungian ideas and wisdom. And a good way to spend more time with her own unique style, intellect and depths.
While discussing redemptive motifs in fairy tales, there are also prescient warnings in these pages (although this is not the primary intent of the author).
Are we possessed by our complexes, or able to reflect upon their content? What happens in our unconscious as we lead increasingly busy and disconnected lives, without the luxury of time to devote to our dreams, our upwellings of emotion? What happens when we become too invested, in a one-sided manner, in the light of the intellect?
There's lots to think about here, and - after completing my reading - I felt more equipped to engage in my own inner work and active imagination, more clear about some of the concepts.
As an added benefit, I will now watch the TV series Once Upon a Time (which is filled with redemption motifs)through more curious eyes - what does this show's popularity tell us about our own era, our disowned archetypes, our need to contact the depths in some form or another?
May 2, 2025
This is another fantastic book by Marie Louise von Franz that would honestly be a good starting point for anyone looking to dive into her work. She explains her reasoning for interpreting fairy-tales the way that she does in this series of lectures and goes into the method of her thinking. In her other books, she is expanding on this central technique, but does not explain it as clearly.
April 15, 2010
Not as exciting as I'd hoped for, I guess. Nothing I didn't get from Jung.
June 3, 2014
Marie-Louise Von Franz continues with her interpretation of Fairy Tales and this book can be read out of sequence and is not hard reading.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews