Princes, Frogs and Ugly Sisters

Chapter 1 Why we need fairy tales. The question of archetypes. All tales are stolen property.
Chapter 2 ‘The Frog-King’; Sex, Coercion, and personal integrity.
Chapter 3 ‘Faithful John’; Renegotiating the relationship with the father; the moderation of pride.
Chapter 4 ‘Brother and Sister’. Marriage, and the problem of post partum depression.
Chapter 5 The Nature of The Tales: ‘The Three Spinners’, ‘Rapunzel’. The dangers of the possessive parent, and of thwarted young love.
Chapter 6 ‘Cinderella’; Sexual maturation and self-empowerment; the real story.
Chapter 7 The question of good and evil. ‘The Girl Without Hands’, and ‘The Robber Bridegroom’. Two ways of confronting evil.
Chapter 8 Sexual rivalry, Narcissism, and incest; ‘Little Snow-White’ and ‘Allerleirauh’.
Chapter 9 Parental rejection; ‘Hans the Hedgehog’ – and the recovering of personal authenticity.
Chapter 10 ‘The Three Feathers’; The descent into the self.
Chapter 11 ‘The Skillful Huntsman’; Meeting the Shadow; the restraining of sexuality.
Chapter 12 ‘The Two Kings’ Children’; ‘forgetting’ and family coercion.
Chapter 13 Beowulf as a contrast; facing the demons. The three tests. ‘The Golden Bird’.
Chapter 14 ‘The Glass Coffin’: Sexual manipulations, rape - and the way of healing.
Chapter 15 The simpleton and the three-fold test; sleep as a metaphor, Sleeping Beauty and ‘Little Briar-Rose’.
Chapter 16 Closing: The Descent into the Unconscious.
Appendix: The Historical background.