After a short break, at the request of my clients, I continue a series of notes on archetypes in fairy tale therapy. And today I want to talk about a fairly common archetypal plot, “Beauty and the Predator.” For those who are not in the know, I explain that in fairy tale therapy, by archetype we mean a certain image of the unconscious, which is fixed in culture and passed on from generation to generation through cultural traditions and art. And by archetypal plot we understand a certain chain of events, also recorded in the culture and creativity of the people, developing according to its own laws and leading to qualitative changes in the heroes. So, “Beauty and the Predator”. These are those stories where a young naive girl in the plot meets a terrible beast, or even a werewolf, who poses a danger to her, but in the end she still manages to defeat him or outwit him, and escape, remaining alive and unharmed, but gaining new experience (and you probably already guess that we are talking here about the experience of relationships with a certain type of men). This plot is described in the well-known fairy tales “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Bluebeard”, “The Scarlet Flower”, “Masha and the Bear”, and many others. This plot is illustrated very well by Hollywood feature films “In bed with the enemy” and “I’ve had enough” The main character is usually a young naive girl. And they warn her that there are wolves and bears in the forest, and Bluebeard already had several wives whose fate is unknown. But the heroine seems to be putting on rose-colored glasses, through which the world seems friendly and completely safe to her. That is, she looks at a man through the prism of girlish dreams and naive illusions. And she doesn’t see a real man, but a certain ideal, a collective image from books, films and women’s magazines. The Predator man, on the contrary, is well versed in women. This is, as a rule, a man of the narcissistic type, who knows how to be damn charming and a skilled manipulator. Moreover, for the heroes in whose lives this plot is played out, love is out of the question. The girl looks at the man through rose-colored glasses, and he plays with her like a cat with a mouse, using her for his own interests and purposes. The plot develops through 3 main stages: Waiting and first meeting with the Predator Living together with him (sometimes not of her own free will) Fight and victory There are two main reasons that push the girl into the clutches of the beast. This is the naive curiosity of awakening femininity, the need to be loved. Or it may be a not so young girl, but somewhat inert by nature, not amorous, for whom “the time has come to get married,” but she has never loved before. And then He appears on the horizon - persistent, damn charming, with an evil grin, which, due to naivety and inexperience, is mistaken for a smile. And here it is - the beginning of the plot. The girl’s relatives and friends, as a rule, sense something is wrong and try to warn her. But she doesn’t listen to anyone, because her Beloved is so beautiful! Secretly, she wants to be deceived. The predator captures its prey, plays with it, giving it a false sense of perspective. And she often ignores information that, for example, her lover’s past is not impeccable, and he himself can be rude and cruel to her. For the Predator, it is important to subjugate a woman, forcing her to serve his whims. He adjusts the woman to himself, instilling in her rules that she must obey, inventing rituals for her, forcing her to forget about his own needs and interests, constantly reproaching her for not being “good enough” for him, resorting to emotional, and sometimes physical violence. He does not disdain outright blackmail. And he also does this most often unconsciously, trying to compensate and assert himself at the expense of his partner, who is gradually beginning to realize what trap she has fallen into. But getting out of it is not so easy. A woman becomes dependent on rare signs of attention, and begins to slowly lose dignity and self-respect, resigns herself to her fate. Fight with" 2015