Misinterpretation of narratives

[M Winther]

Psychoanalysts and psychotherapists often make use of narratives, such
as fairytales, as if they were invented to exemplify psychic etiology,
which they are obviously not. The most well-known example is the story
of Narcissus, which is not really about narcissism. However, it could
be used to illustrate unconscious self-obsession, and the dynamic
underlying narcissism. Narcissus does not really impersonate a human
ego. It is explicitly stated in the fairytale that he is the son of a
river god and a nymph. Hence he is a minor god, a spirit that roams
the wood. The meaning of the story revolves around concious
realization. An unconscious content (a spirit in the wood) obtains
energy and thus becomes conscious (self-mirroring).

Another fairytale figure is the witch, which could easily be
misinterpreted. The witch is really a more universal symbol, typically
denoting the dark aspect of the Mother archetype, related to the
shadowy aspect of nature. The witch is not merely destructive. She
does not denote an aspect of pathology. Death is necessary for life to
exist. The cruelty of nature is inescapable. Without bloodthirsty
predators the herbivores would consume all vegetables, and life on
earth would be destroyed.

For instance, the conflict with the witch would serve the purpose of
overcoming the problem by way of integration of the dark aspect of
human nature. Typically, the witch is the evil that unwittingly works
to do good.

I think that many psychoanalysts are really using diverse narratives
in this way, i.e. they tend to use them as illustrations, in order to
depict the pathology that they are discussing. This does not mean that
the narrative, as such, really represents a psychological etiology.

Comparatively, the ostrich is used to depict a certain escapist
mentality among human beings, but it is not at all the truth about the
ostrich as such. It is a very tough bird. I think we tend to treat
narratives in the same way as we treat ostriches.

Mats Winther
http://home7.swipnet.se/~w-73784/