Chapter 4 Summary and Analysis

Von Franz has chosen the Grimm fairy tale "The Three Feathers" to analyze. The tale is about an old king and three sons. The king must choose who is to inherit the kingdom. Two sons are intelligent and scheming, while the third is slow and dim-witted. This one is called Dummling. The king casts three feathers in the air and tells his sons they must follow the feather in order to find the most beautiful carpet in the land. Dummling's feather falls straight to the ground. The other brothers follow their feathers, which go east and west. Thinking they have Dummling beat—as his feather apparently didn't land anywhere significant—the brothers buy a shabby carpet from a peasant. However, Dummling's feather fell on top of a secret door in the floor. Dummling goes into the secret door to...