Marie-Louise von Franz - Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales

Also by Marie-Louise von Franz in this Series:

The Psychological Meaning of Redemption Motifs in Fairy Tales

On Divination and Synchronicity: The Psychology of Meaningful Chance

Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology

Canadian Cataloging in Publication Data

Franz, Marie-Louise von, 1915-Archetypal patterns in fairy tales

(Studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts; 76)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-919123-77-5

1. Fairy tales Psychological aspects.

2. Archetype (Psychology).

3. Psychoanalysis and folklore.

4. Fairy tales History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series.

GR550.F68 1997 398'.2'01'9C97-930675-2

Copyright 1997 by Marie-Louise von Franz.

All rights reserved.

INNER CITY BOOKS

Box 1271, Station Q, Toronto, Canada M4T 2P4

Telephone (416) 927-0355

Fax (416) 924-1814

E-mail: icb@inforamp.net

Honorary Patron: Marie-Louise von Franz.

Publisher and General Editor: Daryl Sharp.

Senior Editor: Victoria Cowan.

INNER CITY BOOKS was founded in 1980 to promote the understanding and practical application of the work of C.G. Jung.

Cover: "Table-top Globe," monoprint by Vicki Cowan, 1997.

Index by Daryl Sharp.

Printed and bound in Canada by University of Toronto Press

Marie-Louise von Franz

(photo by Edwin Snyder)

The first fairy tale, from Denmark, is called "The Princess with the Twelve Pairs of Golden Shoes." It goes like this:

There was once a young man who went out into the world to find his luck. On his way he met an old man who begged him for some money. The young man said, "I have no money, but I will certainly share my food with you." And the old man accepted, so they sat under a tree and the young man distributed his food. When they had eaten, the old man said, "You have shared with me what you have; now I will give you in return this stick and this ball which will bring you luck. If you lift the stick before you, you will become invisible. And when you hit the ball with the stick, the ball will roll before you and show you where you should go."

The young man thanked him for the gift, threw the ball to the ground and hit it with the stick, and the ball quickly rolled ahead of him. It rolled and rolled until he came to a big town. Here he discovered that on the wall surrounding the town, there were many heads stuck up on display cut-off human heads! He asked a man he met what the matter was. The man told him that there a great worry in this country because every night the princess of the country was tearing twelve pairs of golden shoes to bits. Nobody knew how it happened. The old king was sick of this affair and had sworn to find out what was the matter. Whoever would find out would get the princess and half of the empire, but if he could not find out what was the matter he would be killed. Many noble men had come already and tried, because the princess was very beautiful, but they had all been killed, and the old king was very sad about it.

When the young man heard this, he felt a great desire to try this adventure, and he went to the castle and said he would try the next night. The old king was very sorry for him and told him not to do it, for he would succumb like all the others. But the young man insisted, so the king said he must sleep for three nights in the bedroom of the princess and find out if he could discover something. If he hadn't discovered anything by the third day, he must be killed. The young man was satisfied. In the evening a servant led him to the room of the princess where there was a bed for him. He put his stick against the bed, put his rucksack next to it and climbed into bed, determined not to close an eye. For a long time he didn't sleep, but still he didn't notice anything. Finally he slept. When he woke up suddenly, he found it was morning, and he was furious because he had missed seeing anything. He swore he would be more attentive the next night.

The next night it went the same way, and now the young man had only one night left to save his life. The third evening he pretended to sleep, and before long he heard a voice asking the princess if he was asleep. The princess said yes, and a girl in white clothes came to the bed of the princess and said, "I must still try to see if he really sleeps." She took a golden needle and pricked him in the heel. He did not move, though it hurt, and she left the golden needle in his foot. Then he saw how the princess and the girl pushed the bed aside and a stair appeared in the wall and they went down. So he quickly took the needle out and put it into his rucksack. Then he took the stick that made him invisible, and the ball, and followed them down the stairs until they came to a forest where everything was made of silver: the trees, the flowers and the grass. When they came to the end of the silver forest, he broke off a twig and put it too into his rucksack. The princess heard some noise in the trees and looked around but couldn't see anybody. She said to the white girl, "I think somebody is behind us." "Oh, that's only the wind," the white girl said. Then they came to a wood where everything was made of gold: the trees, the flowers and everything. Again he broke off a twig, and again the princess had a feeling somebody was behind them, but again the girl said it was only the wind. Next they came to a wood where everything was made from diamonds, and again he broke off a twig.

Then they came to a lake, where there was a little boat. The princess and the girl went into it, but when they pushed away from the land, the young man quickly jumped into the boat. But the boat wobbled so badly that the princess became terrified; this time she was sure that somebody was behind them, but again the white girl said, "Oh no, that's only the wind." And then they went over the lake and came to a big castle. When they arrived at the door, a very ugly troll received the princess and asked why she came so late. She said she had a terrible fear that somebody was behind them and had been spying, but she couldn't see anybody. They sat at a table and the young man stood behind the chair of the princess. When they had eaten, he took her golden plate and also her golden knife and fork. These he also put into his baggage. The troll and the princess couldn't explain how these things had disappeared, but the troll didn't bother about it any more, and they began to dance with each other. They danced twelve dances, and in every dance the princess tore or used up a pair of golden shoes. And when they had danced the last dance, and she had thrown the last pair of golden shoes in a corner, the young man took them and put them in his baggage. Then the troll accompanied the princess back to the boat, and the young man came along and jumped first on land. He quickly ran back to his bed so that when the princess arrived in her room he was already seemingly sleeping.

The next morning the old king asked if he had seen something, and he said no, he hadn't discovered anything. The old king was very unhappy, but the princess was triumphant and wanted to see his execution. So the young man was led to the gallows, and the king and the princess and the whole court went along. When he was standing on the gallows, he asked the king for permission to tell a strange dream which he had had the previous night, and the king agreed. So he told that he dreamt a white girl had come to the princess and asked if he slept, and then had pricked this golden needle into his foot to find out. Then he said, ''I think it is