Bruno Bettelheim, "Cinderella: A Story of Sibling Rivalry
and Oedipal Conflicts" Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990) was born in Vienna, Austria and earned a
Ph.D. in 1938, studying under Sigmund Freund at the University of Vienna.
He emigrated to the U.S. in 1939 and became a citizen five years later.
Bettelheim taught psychology and studied and treated autism at the University
of Chicago for thirty years. Among his awards and honors are both a National
Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award for his best-known
work—The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
(1976). His other books include Love Is Not Enough: The Treatment of
Emotionally Disturbed Children (1950), The Empty Fortress: Infantile
Autism and the Birth of the Self (1967), and Freud's Vienna and
Other Essays (1990). Bettelheim committed suicide in Silver Springs,
Maryland after he suffered a severe stroke. "Cinderella: A Story
of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts" is an excerpt from The
Uses of Enchantment. |
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION |
CONTENT - What does the name Cinderella mean?
- About how old a story is "Cinderella"?
- What, according to the author, is the real source of sibling rivalry?
- According to Bettelheim, why do children respond differently to fairy
tales than to realistic narratives?
- Can an only child be subject to sibling rivalry?
- Explain how the author compares and contrasts "Cinderella"
and "Little Red Riding Hood."
- Explain the reasons Bettelheim gives for the enduring popularity
of "Cinderella."
STRATEGY AND STYLE - Discuss this piece as a comparison/contrast essay. Make clear what
things are being compared and contrasted and how the author supports
his main points.
- In paragraphs sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen the author uses dialogue.
What information does this dialogue convey? How else could he have presented
this information? What would change about the essay if this information
were presented in another way?
- Compare the introduction and the conclusion. What work does each
do? What main point does the author bring up in the conclusion that
is not found in his introduction? What main point is mentioned in both
places?
- What can you say about the tone of the title of this piece? How can
you contrast it to the tone of the titles of Langston Hughes's "Salvation"
or Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue"?
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ENGAGING THE TEXT |
- Do you like fairy tales? How has your relationship with them changed
over the years? When you read them to children, do you have a good time,
or do you try to skip pages and see if they'll notice? How might these
attitudes toward fairy tales have influenced your reaction to this piece?
- Do you have any siblings? If you do, describe your relationship
with them. If you don't, have you ever wanted any? What connection
did your answers here have with your reading?
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SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING |
- Is Bettelheim reading too much into a simple fairy tale? Form your
answer into a thesis statement and write an essay supporting your position.
Make specific references to your reading throughout.
- What are some of the major differences between hearing and reading?
About when did you learn to read a fairy tale on your own? Apply your
answers to these questions: Since Bettelheim repeatedly remarks that
his observations apply to fairy tales as heard, what changes
about the tales when children read them themselves? What changes about
the children?
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FOR FURTHER RESEARCH |
Do some research and familiarize yourself with one of the German "ash-boy"
stories Bettelheim mentions in paragraph two. Compare and contrast the
tale you research to the version of "Cinderella" that you know. |
WEB CONNECTION |
Read this review
of two Bettelheim biographies that came out a few years ago. What did
you learn about the books from the review itself? What would make consulting
the books themselves necessary in order to find out? After reading the
review, would you like to read further? Explain. |
LINKS |
Biographical This entry
about Bettelheim from Encyclopedia.com has a hyperlinked biography and
a selection of related links. Would you rather use this information
or that found in the link below in a paper about the author? Explain. Take a look at this brief biography,
which also has a photo of the author and some links. How trustworthy
do you find the information here? How can you tell? What are some ways
to check the reliability of information on the internet? Bibliographical Ready for some of Bettelheim's work in etext? Then take a visit
to this page
where you'll find some excerpts from The Uses of Enchantment.
Bibliographical Ready for some of Bettelheim's work in etext? Then take a visit
to this page
where you'll find some excerpts from The Uses of Enchantment. Here is a detailed critique
of Bettelheim's foreword to a book called Auschwitz. Bettelheim's
work is in italics. What do you make of the critique? Is the author
of the review being fair? Where could you find out more about Bettelheim
and the Holocaust?
Cultural Take a look at these reviews
of Bettelheim's book The Uses of Enchantment. Some of them are
blurbs. What methods would you use to find the whole review in these
cases? What information on this page would you feel comfortable about
using for a paper about "Cinderella," and what information
would you avoid using? Why? What's a major difference between the two
types of reviews found here? Would you like to do some research about this author's contributions
to the field of autism research, but you're not sure where to start
looking? Visit this directory
on the subject from Google.com, and you'll find some good links to get
you going. Let's say you'd like to explore another direction: Fairy tales interest
you, but you're not sure how to narrow the research topic. This directory
about fairy tales will suggest many ways to zero in on a manageable
thesis.
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