Significance of the Number 3 in Fairy Tales Essay -- Exploratory Essay

Significance of the Number 3 in Fairy Tales Numbers do not exist. They are creations of the mind, existing only in the body politic of understanding. No one has ever touched a number, nor would it be possible to do so. You may sketch a symbol on a cover that represents a number, but that symbol is not the number itself. A number is just understood. Nevertheless, numbers hold symbolic meaning. Have you ever asked yourself serious questions round the significance, implications, and roles of numbers? For example, Why does the number ten denote a change to double digits? Is zero a number or a non-number? Or, the matter this piece will address Why does the number tether hold an understood and symbolic importance?My interest in this topic began by observing the commons usage of the number three in fairy tales. Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and the three sisters in Cinderella are classic and well-known examples in which the number three is used. Th is paper seeks to uncover the mystery of the number three by analyzing the possible reasons the authors use three in fairy tales.Explanations for an authors use of the number in question can be grouped into three categories (pardon the irony). First, what I call the Cultural Approach assumes a smooth convert for three from culture and history into the works of the author. It explains the use of three by referring to social conditioning, an idea that society can influence a person to come out a certain pattern or belief even though there is no intrinsic reason to do so. Second, the Psychoanalytical Approach assumes that three weighs on the writers mind not because of society, but rather due to ways that are a part of the uncontrollab... .... 1998 98.Lane, Marcia. Picturing the Rose A Way of Looking at Fairy Tales. H.W. Wilson, 1994.Louis, Anthony. The Numerological Significance of the Tarot. 1998. Access New Age. 03 Mar. 2004 .McElrow, Tori. Spinning Three by Three 1999. Metist a Home Page. 24 Feb. 2004 .symbolisation and Spiritual Significance of the Number 3. 23 Feb. 2004. .Traditional Folk Tales for Children The Three Suitors and their Magic Gifts. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 31 March 2004. .Von Franz, Marie Louise. An Introduction to the psychological science of Fairy Tales. New York Spring, 1975.Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Individuation in Fairy Tales. Zurich Spring, 1977.