"Bloody Mary in the Mirror" mixes Sigmund Freud with vampires
and "The Little Mermaid" to see what new light psychoanalysis can
bring to folklore techniques and forms.
Ever since Freud published his analysis of Jewish jokes in 1905
and his disciple Otto Rank followed with his groundbreaking "The
Myth of the Birth of the Hero" in 1909, the psychoanalytic study of
folklore has been an acknowledged part of applied
psychoanalysis.
However, psychoanalysts, handicapped by their limited knowledge
of folklore techniques, have tended to confine their efforts to the
Bible, to classical mythology, and to the Grimm fairy tales. Most
folklorists have been slow to consider psychoanalysis as a method
of interpreting folklore.
One notable exception is folklorist Alan Dundes. In the seven
fascinating essays of "Bloody Mary in the Mirror," psychoanalytic
theory illuminates such folklore genres as legend (in the vampire
tale), folktale (in the ancient Egyptian tale of two brothers),
custom (in fraternity hazing and ritual fasting), and games (in the
modern Greek game of "Long Donkey"). One of two essays Dundes
co-authored with his daughter Lauren Dundes, professor of sociology
at Western Maryland College, successfully probes the content of
Disney's "The Little Mermaid," yielding new insights into this
popular reworking of a Hans Christian Andersen favorite.
Among folk rituals investigated is the girl's game of "Bloody
Mary." Elementary or middle school-age girls huddle in a darkened
bathroom awaiting the appearance in the mirror of a frightening
apparition. The plausible analysis of this well-known--if somewhat
puzzling--American rite is one of many surprising and enlightening
finds in this book.
All of the essays in this remarkable volume create new takes on
old traditions. "Bloody Mary in the Mirror" is an expedition into
psychoanalytic folklore techniques and constitutes a giant step
towards realizing the potential Freud's work promises for folklore
studies.
Alan Dundes is professor of anthropology and folklore at the
University of California, Berkeley. Among many others, his books
include "Interpreting Folklore" (1980) and "From Game to War and
Other Psychoanalytic Essays on Folklore" (1997). He edited "Mother
Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of
Afro-American Folklore" (1991), which was published by University
Press of Mississippi.
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