This paper compares and contrasts two fairytales, ‘The Two Old Friends’ and ‘Snow White’, taking them as allegories for narcissistic and borderline patterns. We will begin with the suggestion of their shared roots in adhesive anxiety based on the work of Kleinian analyst Esther Bick. We will then look at how these two defensive strategies diverge on the threshold of symbol formation and how Michael Fordham’s ideas may be seen at play within the unfolding stories. Finally, a sense of how the ending in both stories might help us to envision healthy prognosis. 

Andy White is a member of AJA. He is also an existential psychotherapist with roots in the Psychosynthesis Trust and the Richmond Fellowship.   He has published, ‘Abundant Delicious’, a post-modern interpretation of the myth of Oedipus, and ‘Going Mad to Stay Sane’, a pan-psychology of self-destructiveness.  He also has a blog, andywhiteblog.com, subtitled ‘The Wisdom of Fairytales’, which is a safari through fairytales from around the world.