From infancy to adulthood, myth is an integral part of ones identity formation. No matter how “objective” we would like to regard ourselves, it is impossible to separate from the various myths that shape our personalities. Imagine how different life would have been without ever truly having believed in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Despite the fact that our parents outright lied to us for a number of years, they merely participated in a tradition that I, for one, plan to continue when I become a parent. I do not think that I have been “brainwashed” or tampered with as a result of participating in such a fairytale and, at that age, I do not think it was unusual to believe in such things anyways.
What is important about such myths is that they are eventually debunked in a fairly graceful manner. It is not traumatizing to discover that Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny is not real. In fact, it simply makes sense, and by this time we are ready to comprehend the historical basis behind the tradition of the mythologized figure. Similarly, we are not traumatized when we learn that Columbus Day celebrates a man that not only “discovered
I think that the truly damaging myths that must be dealt with are the ones that are not debunked. Consider, for example, the “Cinderella” myth among girls and young women regarding relationships and marriage. The theory was first described Psychologist Collette Dowling in her book The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence. It is a complex that is rooted in youth, but that becomes apparent only as one grows older. Collette holds that “women are brought up to depend on a man and to feel naked and frightened without one. We have been taught to believe that as females we cannot stand alone, that we are too fragile, too delicate, too needful of protection. So that now, in these days enlightened days, when so much has become possible, unresolved issues often hold us back.”[1] In other words, the instillation of “fairytale beliefs” in life, such as that marrying the perfect man who will care for us emotionally and financially or that being pretty and feminine naturally leads to “goodness,” hinder women from pursuing a career or living singly. Cinderella syndrome also causes romanticizing of marital life and when women are divorced, single, or widowed it can lead to a destructive and false sense of failure.
Therefore to conclude, it is important to be aware of the role influence of myth on our identity formation. Though in youth it is considered normal to actively participate in such myth, by adulthood the participation in these fairytales is by and large considered unhealthy. As one grows older it is necessary to learn the role that these myths play in our lives and to distinguish fiction from fact.
[1] Dowling, Collette. "The Cinderella Syndrome." The New York Times. 22 Mar. 1981. New York Times. 17 Apr. 2008
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