〈虎姑婆〉是中國最著名的童話故事之一，除中國外，世界各地亦存在同類型故事，暗示這則故事可能來自於人類心靈的共同原型。本文認為〈虎姑婆〉在童話故事的表面底下，實與神話有著一脈相承的關係，反映出集體無意識中的原型意象。在論述方法上，本文援用普羅普（Vladimir Propp）對神奇故事的研究成果，指出〈虎姑婆〉的外在情節結構，完全符應於過渡儀式的分離、閾限、聚合三階段的進程，故事的主角就和所有神話的主角一樣，歷經了一場啟悟式的英雄試煉。而〈虎姑婆〉以女性為主要角色的特殊現象，亦透露出其與母權思維的密切關係。藉由分析心理學家諾伊曼（Erich Neumann）對女性原型心理的研究成果，將使我們進一步釐清故事情節的內在心理進程，從而解答〈虎姑婆〉的魅力究竟從何而來的問題

The ＂Grandaunt Tiger＂ is one of the most famous fairy tales in China. Outside of China, stories of the same type also exist worldwide, implying that the story may originated from the archetype of the psyche of human beings. This paper argues that underneath the fairy tale surface, the ＂Grandaunt Tiger＂ and mythology are derived from the same origin, which reflects an archetypal image of the collective unconsciousness. By citing Vladimir Propp's research result of fairy tales, the paper points out that the exterior plot-structure of the ＂Grandaunt Tiger＂ completely match the three processes of the rite of passage: separation, limen, and aggregation, in which the protagonist, similar to the experience of protagonists in all mythologies, goes through an awakening heroic trial. However, the special phenomenon of having a female protagonist in the ＂Grandaunt Tiger＂ reveals a close relationship with the notion of matriarchy. Utilizing the analytical psychologist Erich Neumann's research result of the archetype of female psyche, this paper further disentangles the inner psychological process of the protagonist in the plot of the story, and answers the question as to where the charisma of the ＂Grandaunt Tiger＂ originates from