This dissertation explored the complexities of attachment and individuation for children who have experienced the loss of their mother or primary attachment figure during the early childhood years. As a catalyst to examine the process of attachment and individuation the construct of the absent mother, usually the deceased mother, within the genre of fairy tales, was used. If we are to view fairy tales, as a form of symbolic communication to the child in the hope that such narration will be incorporated into a developing ego, is it possible that fairy tales also served as a protective factor or a surrogate for the absent mother so often depicted in fairy tales, mirroring the cultural landscape from which they came? While times have changed, it is possible that many of these narratives in their various contemporary adaptations continue to provide for the child similar intrinsic and intra-psychic skills needed to navigate through today's trials and tribulations.

Six fairy tales were chosen to investigate the richness of these narratives and their connection to attachment and ego development within the childhood experience, specifically when faced with the loss of the mother or primary attachment figure. This dissertation looked at the various ways in which fairy tales may have provided children with a surrogate mothering experience. Creating for them a holding environment from which to develop a secure attachment and gain mastery over their traumatic experiences.

The clinical implications of this dissertation explored the reparative qualities, within the multiple layers of symbolic meaning, embedded within the fairy tale narrative. Fairy tales provide children a message that one can overcome the many difficulties associated with life and emerge safe and victorious. The explicit and often implicit assurance of the absent mother makes it a powerful therapeutic tool of exploration, especially when related to a disruption in the attachment process. The loss of a child's primary attachment figure or figures is still a prevalent reality; one only needs to think about the casualties of September 11^th, the number of children placed in foster care due to drugs, abuse, and neglect, or the physically present but emotionally dead mother.

The thematic interpretations of the six fairy tales presented in this dissertation explored the rich clinical data embedded within each text. Applicable to therapeutic work with children and adults, this process provides as a means to understand the gestalt of a patient's narrative, his or her attachment system, and defensive structure. This process can also provide significant insight related to the internalized capacity of the absent mother within a patient's reality as well as within the therapeutic relationship.