The Handless Maiden

I see a chiropractor named Fred now and then, who has done wonders for my back, neck and jaw.   I was complaining to him about my wrists one day, which are still swollen and can be frustratingly weak.  At our next session he lent me a book called The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, by Robert A. Johnson.

The Handless maiden is an old fairy tale about a miller who is overcome with hardships.  He makes a pact with the devil in which he promises to exchange whatever is behind the mill for material wealth.
He does not realise his daughter is behind the mill.  When the devil returns the hands of the 'young maiden' are chopped off in order to fulfill the bargain made by her father.  The 'Handless Maiden' is devastated, and after some time runs away from her home and begins a long journey of self discovery ... where she learns to live independently, on her own terms.

The first part of the tale is a meditation on trickery and powerlessness.  Her father had not known the true price of his deal.  The Handless Maiden loses her ability to be a player in her own life.   
The second part, the maiden, now a woman and later a wife, finds the strength to redefine her circumstance, to be brave and reclaim her own sense of power and wholeness. She is no longer taken care of, restricted or dependent.

I think about this myth, and I connect with parts of it, but for some reason I cannot grasp the meaning all at once, as a whole. It kind of numbs my brain.  Was I the 'father' that cut off my own hands? Was it self sabotage?

But, on the other 'hand', I don't think the placement and identification of blame helps much.  The book inspires me to find strength within myself to be happy with how far I have come, and keep exploring, meditating and being true to myself.