Женският път към мъдростта („Девойката с отсечените ръце")
Woman's Road to Wisdom ("The Maiden with Cut-off Arms")

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to enrich the folkloristic analysis of narrative structures of Bulgarian folktales about the victim-heroine. It offers a psychological analysis of the narrative structure of a subdivision of these tales - "The Maiden with Cut-off Arms". The analysis is based on C. G. Jung's conception of the process of individuation - a process of psychic growth, in which our wounds may be healed, and what is irrevocably lost, may be found again and restored. The tale describes the process of individuation of one type of victim-heroines - those, who have underestimated the feminine principle of connecting and love, the Eros. The peripeties of the plot reveal the life course of the "father's girl" - she is first punished, but then saved and made integral. The author shows the psychological meaning of the maiden's meeting with different archetypal figures and their role in the process of individuation. Special attention is paid to the metaphor of "cutting off" and "restoring" of her arms, which reflects the folklore concept of the possibilities of the psyche to regulate itself, achieving integrity, healing and development.

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