{"product_id":"2026200015116-secondhand-the-uses-of-enchantment-the-meaning-and-importance-of-fairy-tales","title":"The Uses Of Enchantment: The Meaning And Importance Of Fairy Tales","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat if the fairy tales we read to children are not mere entertainment, but the very architecture of a healthy human mind? In The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, renowned child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim presents a landmark argument that classic fairy tales — from Cinderella to Hansel and Gretel — serve a profound psychological function, speaking directly to the unconscious anxieties, desires, and developmental struggles of childhood. Drawing on the frameworks of Freudian psychoanalysis, Bettelheim illuminates how these ancient narratives provide children with a symbolic language to process fear, loss, identity, and the eternal battle between good and evil.\n\nFar from being sanitised bedtime stories, Bettelheim argues that the darkness and moral complexity embedded within traditional fairy tales are not flaws to be edited away, but essential truths that validate a child's inner emotional life. His writing is authoritative yet accessible, weaving clinical insight with cultural scholarship to produce a work of enduring significance at the crossroads of psychology, literature, and child development. First published in 1976 and awarded both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, this seminal text continues to challenge parents, educators, and scholars alike — leaving the reader to wonder whether, in stripping fairy tales of their shadows, we may have robbed children of their most powerful tool for understanding the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203190399195,"sku":"2026200015116-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/3306c0fd-5f2a-4daf-b938-87fdf8cb47b3.png?v=1788145418","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200015116-secondhand-the-uses-of-enchantment-the-meaning-and-importance-of-fairy-tales","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}