THE BENEFIT OF STORY INTERPRETATION                              

For me a story is enriched by exploring its meaning. Storytellers like Sam Keen, Robert Bly, Marion Woodman and Carissa Pinkola Este are available on CD and tape, telling stories and also exploring the meaning of the stories they tell.

Here is how this combination of story and meaning helps me.

1. When the storyteller provides interpretations, I use the story in different ways. For example, psychological interpretation (perhaps in line with the works of Freud or Jung or Bettelheim) adds to my ability to use the story to resolve psychological situations in my life that are similar to the situations in the lives of the story characters.

2. Meaning puts the story into a broader mythic context. It allows me to compare the story theme to stories in other cultures, giving me a broader reference of the human experience in the story. This broader story context gives me the enjoyment of increased understanding of other cultures.

3. Listening to the storytellers who share meaning gives me the bond of experiencing the teller as a teacher and mentor. They are saying to me not only will I share a story with you but I will also take the more personal step (and perhaps the more risky step) of telling you what I think the story means. This kind of mentoring bond is quite special to me as a listener of stories. I respect the effort and thought that went into the storyteller finding meaning.

Overall, providing interpretation and meaning deepens a story and enriches my ability to use the story in my life. A storyteller, giving both interpretation and story together, allows me to identify with both the story and the teller in a deeper way.

Author is Rita Grimaldi of Peterborough Storytellers, September 2012