Hedwig Johanna Henriette von Beit (1896–1973) was a self-taught German philologist and folklorist who is remembered for her mammoth work ''Symbolik des Märchens'' (Symbolism of Fairy Tales). Published in three volumes in 1952, it was based largely on the contributions of the Swiss

Jungian Analytical psychology ( de , Analytische Psychologie, sometimes translated as analytic psychology and referred to as Jungian analysis) is a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, to describe research into his new "empirical science" ...

scholar Marie-Louise von Franz although she was not credited for her collaboration. In 2020, the book was republished by the Foundation for Jungian Psychology under the authorship of Marie-Louise von Franz. The English translation by Roy Freeman was titled ''Archetypal Symbols in Fairytales''.

Biography

Born on 17 August 1896 in

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

, Hedwig Johanna Henriette Beit was the daughter of the German banker and his wife Lucie Speyer. In 1928, she married the physician . In the mid-1930s, von Beit became interested in interpreting fairy tales and asked the Swiss psychiatrist C.G Jung if he could help. Jung suggested she should contact his colleague Marie-Louise von Franz for assistance. Von Franz devoted herself enthusiastically to the task over the next nine years, researching over 900 tales she received from von Beit. Von Franz was deeply disappointed when she discovered von Beit had published a three-volume work based on her findings without any mention of her collaboration. Published as ''Symbolik des Märchens'', the work was well received by the scientific community. Most of the tales were drawn from the collections of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

or from those collected by

Friedrich von der Leyen Friedrich von der Leyen (19 August 1873 – 6 June 1966) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. Biography Friedrich von der Leyen was born in Bremen, Germany on 19 August 1873, and belonged to the House of Leyen. He was th ...

and published as ''Die Märchen der Weltliteratur''. In line with Jung's philosophy, each tale was interpreted symbolically, providing a pictorial view of psychic processes resulting from the interaction of the conscious and subconscious or those stemming directly from the unconscious. In her later publication ''Das Märchen. Sein Ort in der geistigen Entwicklung'' (The Fairytale. Its Place in Spiritual Development, 1965), von Beit dispenses with Jungian interpretations, concentrating on references of European folk tales to the world of the primitive and the world of the child, describing a progression towards a higher level of consciousness. This did not prove nearly as popular as her earlier interpretation of symbolism. Hedwig von Beit died on 16 October 1973 in

Intragna Intragna is a village and locality in the municipality of Centovalli in the district of Locarno of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Intragna has good railway connection with Locarno, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, as well as bus connec ...

, Switzerland. In 2020, her principal work was republished by the Foundation for Jungian Psychology under the authorship of Marie-Louise von Franz. The English translation by Roy Freeman was titled ''Archetypal Symbols in Fairytales''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:von Beit, Hedweg 1896 births 1973 deaths Fairy tale scholars German folklorists German women folklorists 20th-century German writers 20th-century German women writers Writers from Frankfurt