The Being of Evil in the Classic Romanian Fairytale - Expression of the Shadow

AbstractThe study shown contains a fragment of analysis of the Romanian fairytales, analysis that is placing an emphasis on the symbolical ways in which the being of evil is represented, as an expression of the Shadow. The therapeutical value of the fairytale lies in activating the unconscious content and the ability to access the contents of the Shadow but also the internal resources of healing, through diminution of the rational censorship, through projection, identification and active imagination. The fairytale facilitates the insight and works as a support for the person's projections, as a mirror of the mental functionality patterns and through that it represents a way of access to the unconscious, to the pulsional dinamic, to the conflictual areas and defense mechanisms of the person itself. The first part of the article includes theoretical perspectives and conceptual clarifications relevant to our study, details about the notions of Shadow, projection, symbol and individuation. The second part aims to present the stages of the hero's journey. This journey is understood as a way of knowledge and self-knowledge, as a meeting with Self and acceptance of the Shadow's challenges. We referred to three major forms of the Shadow's contents (of the being of evil): the initial evil, the evil that must be crossed and the evil that is defeated in the final battle. The initial evil is the one which determines the travel or the cause, and which can be expressed as a lack of material possession, unsatisfied desire, as a suffering of an emotional nature or as an uncontrolled aggression from the outside (i.e. the hero is banished from his home). The evil that must be crossed is represented by the obstacles encountered along the way. The obstacles are meant to bring to light contents of the Shadow. The evil defeated in the final battle is the one that gives the hero the measure of acceptance of his own limits and the knowledge of his own resources. The last part contains examples of Romanian fairytales that illustrate the ways in which the being of evil expresses itself. The meeting with evil, the confrontation with the Shadow helps the hero to know his own fear and courage, pain and joy, doubt and determination in his process of individuation