In his account of the individuation process, Carl G. Jung describes a spiritual goal for the individual as well as the collective. That process, as exemplified through archetypes in both literature and film, offers the reader insight into the variety and richness those paths may take. In this highly original book, Phyllis Berdt Kenevan provides an analysis of individuation, and then explores four different individual paths of characters from the stories of Zorba the Greek, House of the Spirits, Crime and Punishment, and Bagdad Cafe. Kenevan then explores ways in which individuation can become a path for the collective, analyzing My Dinner With Andre, Wings of Desire, and various Dostoevsky novels. An engaging and thought-provoking look at archetypes as vehicles for interpretation, Paths of lndividuation in Literature and Film is a must read for courses in personal and social psychology, literary or film interpretation, Jung, and philosophy and psychology.

An expressive description of Jung's individuation process made colourful, brilliant and alive through its ten 'mythological' stories of different religious and spiritual paths: The Knight; The Arab; The Ronin; Julia, The Atheist-Communist; Sybilla, The Nymphomaniac; Maria, The Nun; The African; Maya, The Yogini; The Old Chinese Man; and The Medium, Sophie-Sarah.

JUNG AND FRODO: 7 PATHS OF INDIVIDUATION IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS The Lord of the Rings is many things, large and small, but central in the book are the stories of individuation, of transcendence, of all the major characters. Each path is different, each can speak to a different human need. Jung and Frodo identifies 7 psychological paths to maturity and selfhood, each taken by a particular character or pair of characters. These paths are: The Path of Curiosity. At the start, Merry and Pippin care only about creature comforts, but driven by their curiosity, they gradually grow brave and wise. Though In the early parts of the quest, they constantly cause trouble through their monkey-like curiosity, that curiosity leads them to see more of the world than anyone else in the book. The Path of Opposites. Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf - Earth and Air - are representatives of opposing cultures, which despise each other. Gimli and Legolas grow first to respect, then to love each other, thus providing the possibility of a union of opposites, as their joint time passes from the earth. The Path of the Wizard. The Wizard, already the wisest of the wise, must resist arrogance, serve those less wise, then willingly accept death to save others, as a step toward transformation. Saruman fails this test, while Gandalf passes. Gandalf the Grey becomes Gandalf the White. The Path of the King. The King must lower himself to the level of commoners, before rising once more to his full stature. Boromir fails this test, while Strider/Aragorn passes. He grows stronger and wiser in the process, and is finally crowned King Aragorn. This would have been the ending of any other hero's journey, but not The Lord of the Rings, which is far wiser. There remains the three final great paths: of Gollum, Samwise, and Frodo. Path of Tragic Failure. Driven by greed and avarice, Gollum loses his identity, reduced to nothing but desire for his "precious" ring. Yet, even in failure, even while committing evil, Gollum plays an indispensable part in the Quest. Like a Greek tragic hero, though fated to fail personally, he yet serves greater needs. The Path of Love. Sam's is the simplest, yet the most touching of all paths: his simple loyalty and love for Frodo makes him the single person who never wavers in his task throughout the book. When Frodo can no longer even walk, and will not let Sam carry the Ring, Sam carries Frodo. Then, when Gollum joins them, Frodo's kindness has to be balanced by Sam's stern limits. Ultimately Sam's outcome is the happiest of all those on the Quest: he has been able to see the Elves who so fascinated him, able to serve as Frodo's companion on the greatest of all quests, and finally able to return to his blessed Shire, and his loving Rosie. The Path of Transcendence. Then there is Frodo - and Frodo's path transcends that of any other hero in literature. Seemingly the least, always aware of his own fears, his own limitations, he yet accomplishes more than any of those seemingly greater figures like Elves and Dwarves, Kings and Wizards. Even when the great quest is complete, The Lord of the Rings is wise enough to recognize that there can be no simple happy ending for Frodo. Like Hamlet, Frodo can find no peace on earth. At the end, he is left to find some new answer, some unique way to transcend the limitations of life. All of these paths speak to each of us, some paths more than others. Few of us are forced to take a path as difficult as Frodo's, yet in these strange days when the old passes away, there are some for whom this is the only path that can be followed.

This book demonstrates for the first time the significance of Jung’s work to the humanities, and to those areas where the humanities and sciences share borders. More radically, it shows that Jung was a writer of myth, alchemy, narrative, and poetics, as well as on them. Jung’s core concepts are introduced, their ongoing relevance is championed. The book also addresses Jung’s sometimes questionable judgment on politics and gender, and previews contemporary extensions of Jungian theory. By privileging the creative psyche and exploring the connections between individual, natural environment, and social/psychological collective, Jung anticipates the new holism, offering the promise of reconciling the sciences with the arts, humanity with nature.

Where the Shadows Lie takes the reader on a journey through Tolkien's Middle-earth, following the hobbits, their companions, and the characters they encounter on their quest. Along the way, Skogemann reveals the deep symbolic layers that are the source of joy and enchantment that many find in reading The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn, with the aid of Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli, ascends to the throne and becomes the center of a great, unified kingdom--a symbol of the collective Self. The four hobbits, representing individual ego-consciousness, are transformed by the quest and acquire the psychological tools they need to renew the Shire--the small domain enfolded in the great. Jung's theories of the collective unconscious and the archetypes provide a key to understanding the forces of fantasy that are so powerful in Tolkien's masterpiece--and thereby a key to understanding ourselves and the events of the outside world in our modern times.

Rereads Jung in light of contemporary theoretical concerns, and offers a variety of examples of post-Jungian literary and cultural criticism.