Evil is not without its attractions.
Think about all your favorite stories or films. There is always the character corrupted by temptation. Whether that temptation is fueled by greed for power, money, or some other object of desire, it is the strength of the protagonist that determines whether he will be a force for good or evil.
In the real world, the lines between hero and villain are often blurred. Not so in fairy tales. Good versus evil is clearly juxtaposed in this ancient art form. Evil may be lurking in the fiery breath of a dragon, a flesh-eating giant, a shape-shifting witch, a jealous queen. On the surface, these evil villains have powers that our heroes cannot hope to defeat. But they always do.
At the end of every fairy tale, virtue always triumphs. Passed down for generations, these stories were not just meant to entertain, but also to provide a moral compass.
In his book, “The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales,” child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim suggested that the “crime doesn’t pay” message at the end of every fairy tale is not the real moral compass for children. In fairy tales, as in life, the fear of punishment is only a limited deterrent to crime.
“It is not the fact that virtue wins out at the end which promotes morality, but that the hero is most attractive to the child, who identifies with the hero in all his struggles,” Bettelheim writes. “Because of this identification the child imagines that he suffers with the hero his trials and tribulations, and triumphs with him as virtue is victorious. The child makes such identifications all on his own, and the inner and outer struggles of the hero imprint morality on him.”
In other words, a child makes his choice according to which character arouses his or her sympathy. The fairy tales’ clearly defined characters – each falling within the camp of good or evil– make it easier for children to recognize bad behavior and identify with the good.
Learning the difference between right and wrong is a lesson it takes a lifetime to develop. We believe, you can help your children along that road by reading them fairy tales.
