From: mwmv@athena.cas.vanderbilt.edu (Michael Mogensen-Vermillion)
Subject: Re: The Wolf; was Re: Was it 849? 
Organization: Vanderbilt University Mathematics Department
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 23:56:40 GMT

In article <C0Frp8.81L@fang.att.com> kimi@fang.att.com (Kimiye Tipton) writes:
>In article <MAS.93Jan5160009@porgy.jpl.nasa.gov> mas@porgy.jpl.nasa.gov (Marc A. Sarrel) writes:
>>In article <1993Jan5.204320.8992@leland.Stanford.EDU> H. Nunes <hwnunes@leland.stanford.edu> writes:
>>   As for the wolf thing?  Well, taken in the context of the show, it went
>>   way over my head.  If someone could explain the purpose of the wolf,
>>   please do.  I thought it was more man hating, but it wasn't that clear. 
>>
>>Well, as I saw it, the Wolf was very Freudian.  Not only that, but
>>very patronizing and demeaning as well.  (Some people would consider
>>those two statements redundant.)  I think the dream was what finally
>>motivated Maggie to rebury the artifacts.  The wolf represented
>>everything she disliked about men.  Notice how the wolf talked to her
>>as a child and, at the end, took the basket away.  I don't mean to
>>misquote or misparaphrase anyone, but I believe that some feminists
>>consider Freud to have been very sexist.
>
>Okay, close enough-- the wolf was Maurice.  He sweet-talked her, then
>stole her goodies (artifacts) while she was distracted.  The wolf is
>also Joel-- in Maggie's mind, he's after some other goodies she's got,
>and that's why she blows up at him when he tries to be kind or friendly
>or concerned.  This is because no matter what's going on, when Maggie
>runs into Joel, the first thing she has to suppress is raging desire
>:-)  You know how some shows make a joke of a woman chopping a guy
>off short when he makes some advance, and the guy turns around, grins
>and says, "She wants me _bad_!"?  Well, this is supposed to be what's
>going on with Maggie.
>
>I didn't think the dream was particularly demeaning-- I loved the way
>Maggie argued with the Wolf's interpretations ("It's just a _hood_."--
>when's the last time you heard a clitoral reference on TV?!?)  Yes,
>it was Freudian, but made fun of Freud at the same time.  Maggie's
>putting a lot of energy in denying her sexual needs these days, but
>she's not stupid, so her psyche is trying to wake her up, using the
>very weapons she would refuse to let anyone else use.
>
>I love the dream segments of NX-- besides being amusing, they 
>are revelatory, and I'm one of those people who also has dreams that
>make me realize things about myself and others.  Anyone else out
>there have the experience (which can be major unsettling!)?

The child psychiatrist Bruno Bettleheim (sp?) wrote a fascinating book
arguing that at least one of the sociological roles that the classic
fairy tales (such as the ones the Brothers Grimm collected) were to
serve as a didatic and cathartic device for helpimg young children deal
with the sort of subconscious issues that Freud was so fascinated with.
(Love/hate/lust for parents, fear of strangers/death/abandonment, etc.)
I belive the title was something along the lines of _The Role of Fable_,
or _The Role of Myth_.  I'd know for certain if my English major wife
were in town.

Mike (no, not THAT Mike)
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