Below are some spontaneous thoughts on the Grimm version of the fairy tale, The Girl Without Hands. I’m finding the tale very therapeutic right now. This is not a definitive analysis. I’m approaching the text like a dream and my reactions are dream-like, alternating between treating this tale as parts of my psyche, or even parts within a part of my psyche. Marie Louise Von Franz suggested we might also read these tales as a description of the collective concerns of a culture. Like dreams, fairy tales can be filled with paradox and contradiction, just like our inner life.
Reflecting on The Girl Without Hands – Fairy Tale Medicine
Dividing the tale into three parts, here is the opening of the tale.
A miller fell slowly into poverty, until finally he had nothing more than his mill and a large apple tree. One day he went into the forest to gather wood and he was approached by an old man. The man said, “Why do you torment yourself with chopping wood? I will make you rich if you will promise me what is standing behind your mill.”
“What can that be but my apple tree?” thought the miller. He said yes, and signed it over to the strange man.
The latter, laughed and said, “I will come in three years and get what belongs to me.”
When the miller arrived home, his wife came up to him and said, “Husband, tell me, where did all the wealth come from that is suddenly in our house?
The miller told her the story and how he had given up the apple tree for all their new wealth.
“Oh, husband!” said the woman. “That was the devil. He didn’t mean the apple tree, but our daughter, who was standing behind the mill sweeping the yard.”
The miller’s daughter was a beautiful and pious girl. She lived the next three years worshipping God. When the time came for the evil one to get her, she washed herself clean and drew a circle around herself with chalk. The devil appeared very early in the morning, but he could not approach her.
The devil spoke angrily to the miller, “Keep water away from her, so she cannot wash herself. Otherwise I have no power over her.”
The miller was frightened and did what he was told. The next morning the devil returned, but the daughter had wept into her hands, and they were entirely clean.
The Devil said, “Chop off her hands. Otherwise I cannot get to her.”
The miller was horrified and answered, “How can I chop off my own child’s hands!”
Then the devil threatened him, saying, “If you do not do it, then you will be mine, and I will take you instead.”
This frightened the father, and he promised to obey him. Then he went to the girl and said, “My child, forgive me of the evil that I will do to you.”
Father,” she said, “do with me what you will.” She stretched forth her hands, and let him chop them off.
The devil came a third time, but she had wept so long onto her stumps, that she was still entirely clean, and the devil had lost all power over her.
The miller said “I have gained great wealth through you. I shall take care of you in splendor as long as you live.”
But she answered, “I cannot remain here. I will go away. Compassionate people will give me as much as I need.”
Here are some initial thoughts on this first section of this powerful tale, followed by some great questions for active imagination or journaling.
The tale begins with a simple sentence: “The Miller fell slowly into poverty.”
The Miller has a gracious, miraculous daughter but he only thinks of his material assets, a mill and an apple tree. Both are nourishing symbols, the tree provides fruit and the mill grinds raw materials, making them usable. The Miller has wealth that he doesn’t recognize. His slow decline into poverty may reflect his loss of other material wealth, but it certainly reflects decline of his spiritual/psychological wealth and well-being. This first line of the fairy tale depicts a relentless descent. It is a kind of madness. An obsession with wealth. Wealth without the work of picking or grinding.
He soon feels a temptation. It is a temptation to no longer do the work to make himself whole. He wants an easy path and he will take shortcuts to get what he wants. What might that look like in my life? Lying to myself about my internal state? Saying that there isn’t work to do for my inner life? This is a shortcut I might take. Other shortcuts might be projecting my own shadow onto others, using my spirituality to bypass the work, or using addictive distractions.
The Miller’s inner poverty sets the stage for the drama. The inner weakness, in myself or within my social or family system, allows the temptation to enter.
The Miller doesn’t consider his daughter. He is a materialist. In my life he may be a father figure who wants to use me for his own ends, not seeing my worth or my individuality. Internally, he may be the fierce driver who refuses to see my feminine side.
Why does the tempter wait three years for the girl? Perhaps because our bad habits, our mistakes take time to take root in us. Taking action “when the time is right,” is crucial internally. Perhaps this is true for the inner tempter too.
The pious daughter has three years of waiting. Waiting is excruciating but dire news can sharpen the mind. Instead of going into despair the daughter hones in on God and worships with intensity. This initial choice builds inner wealth in the young woman. She will be ready to battle the tempter when he comes.
The daughter uses two tactics to keep from possession by the Evil One. The first is drawing a chalk circle around herself. She surrounds herself with a mandala, a wholeness of the Inner Self, God. She enters a prayerful circle and the Devil cannot get her. (The Devil comes “early in the morning,” perhaps it is still dark. He expects the daughter to be unprepared, but she has been preparing herself.)
Next, she cries. The daughter allows herself to grieve the state of her life. The betrayal of her father (and mother). the loss of her innocence must be mourned. Staying in touch with the truth of her feelings and the situation protects the girl from possession. But the inner effects of the father’s betrayal cause more than just grief. The young woman loses the use of her hands. She is maimed in her inner life and can no longer reach for what she wants.
If I have a wound from family dynamics, have I experienced a loss of agency within myself? Perhaps it emerges as procrastination or an inner saboteur. Perhaps it is perfectionism, depression, anxiety, or shame. Whatever the symptom, the daughter is no longer whole. She must depend on others and time for healing.
The Devil comes three times. Similarly, dark addictions, hostile inner parts, or self-defeating patterns make numerous attacks on us over time. But inner perseverance can deliver us from a permanent state of possession.
The family system offers to take care of the daughter but she will not accept their violence in exchange for security. Bravely, the daughter refuses to deny what happened to her. She chooses to leave her unhealthy home and accept her fate. But she does not isolate herself within her trauma. She moves out into the world, trusting that she will get what she needs.
When have I allowed myself to trust, even when all felt lost? What was the beginning of my own journey toward healing. How did others help me?
Below are some questions for part one of The Girl Without Hands – Fairy Tale Medicine
What other questions could you ask? Ignore any questions that don’t fit for you!
• When have I made a bad bargain? A deal with the devil?
• When have I traded wealth for innocence?
• How do I protect myself from evil? How do I “wash myself clean?”
• How have I been cleansed through grief?
• How have I been wounded?
• Has this wounding protected me?
Artist: Miluše Poupětová
The Girl Without Hands – Fairy Tale Medicine
Read Parts 2 here and 3 here. Click here to read the entire tale.