Bruno Bettelheim, Austrian-American psychologist and writer, dedicated much of his life to the study of human development, particularly the individual's early growth, response to trauma, and the effects of various forms of repression on the natural ego. His was the foremost scientific mind in post-World War II child psychology, and his broad theories about the power of fairy tales to provide insight into the "inner lives of children" suggest that fairy tales address youth issues in metaphorical terms. in order to make them more easily universally accessible to children and therefore more solvable. However, as assertive as Bettelheim's arguments are and as all-encompassing as his studies of the child psyche may seem, his career is not entirely free from controversy and questions of both academic and personal integrity. Ultimately, even if Bettelheim's work were to be considered on its own merits alone, the damaging effects of his traumatic—and subsequently dissolute—life experiences on that work must not be overlooked. Therefore, although it can be argued that Bruno Bettelheim's contribution to anthropology was indeed considerable, his theories on the "uses of enchantment" are too partial and subject/vulnerable to critical censure to be considered applicable to any practical extent in the field of child psychology. today.Any biographical research on Bruno Bettelheim will yield results full of critical discretion regarding his work. Some general, highly publicized, and widely disseminated controversies overshadow his major contributions to psychology, to the point that his career has come to be defined by the inadequacy with which he conducted his scholarly discoveries... middle of paper... ...d fairy tales." Children's Literature: Annualof The Modern Language Association Group on Children's Literature and The Children's Literature Association 6 (1977): 93-114. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. James P. Draper and Jennifer Allison Brostrom. Vol. 79. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. Literary Resources from Gale Web. March 11, 2010. Nussbaum, Emily "The Defense of Dr. B. Bruno Bettelheim was a complicated, but not evil man insists." Book Review 24 November 2002: 16+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 March 2010. Roazen, Paul. "The Rise and Fall of Bruno Bettelheim: Studies of Motivation in History and Culture 20.3: 221 -250 in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. vol. 143. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literary resources from Gale. Network. March 11. 2010.