Archetypal Symbols in Fairy Tales. The Trial of the Maiden

The book by the outstanding Swiss psychologist and thinker Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998), "Archetypal Symbols in Fairy Tales," which she worked on for eight years, was published in the 1950s under the name of another person, Hedwig von Beit. The Jungian Psychology Fund in Küsnacht achieved recognition of von Franz's authorship and published three volumes of research under the name of the actual author. Only now is this work being published in Russian for the first time as part of a collected works. In this work, Marie-Louise von Franz addresses the fairy tales of many nations, frequently focusing on Russian folk tales. She is the founder of a new direction in folklore research using the achievements of analytical psychology. 

The work "Archetypal Symbols in Fairy Tales" is presented to readers in the first three volumes of the collected works: "The Everyday and the Magical Worlds," "The Hero's Journey," and "The Trial of the Maiden." The third volume is dedicated to tales where the main character is a girl, young woman, or woman who must face dangers and undergo trials on the path to her own individuation. The diversity of archetypal images is manifested here through the interpretation of such widely known tales as "Bluebeard," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," etc. All these tales are examined through the lens of the female psyche, where the heroine's journey represents a "great quest" aimed at the inner development of personality and the attainment of consciousness.

The book is addressed to both specialists in the fields of psychoanalysis, psychology, cultural studies, as well as a broad audience interested in folk creativity.