[Bettelheim's witch: the questionable relation between fantasy and psychoanalysis].
Literary and folk narrative scholars understand fairy tales in ways which differ radically from the readings of Bruno Bettelheim and of many other psychoanalytically-oriented interpreters. Their exegeses ignore--or are ignorant of--information which has been basic to folk and fairy tale scholarship for nearly two hundred years. This includes careful distinctions between that material which is common to many different cultures and that which differs profoundly from one culture to another. Such categories include the identity of evil incarnate, the significance of particular colours, social values with reference to gender, variant analysis, and the impact of nineteenth century values on nineteenth century tale collections, especially the Grimms' Kinder- und Hausmärchen.