Myth & Sandman (Carl Jung)
What is Myth? vs. Legend?
Myth - article "stories of the gods"
Myth resonates in the realm of sacred where there is meaning
Campbell & Myth - 4 functions
- Mystical - put us in touch with the wonder - what a wonder the universe is, what we are, and to experience awe before this wonder
- Cosmology - an image of this universe - what it is made of, what it looks like, who inhabits it!
- Sociological - tells people how to behave and to support a certain social order
- Psychological - how to live a human life (a good life) under any circumstances
Myth as metaphor/myth IS metaphor
Dream/myth/gods
We dream/create gods
Gaimen - the business of fantasy is to make metaphors concrete
Jung and the Collective Unconscious
How do you feel about it?
Accept? Reject?
(Fear of snakes & big cats - biological - our predators, even among urban people)
Jungian Archetypes
Let's discuss then get into a few that are relevant to Fantasy
- The King
- The Shadow - personal - what we present in social roles
- Anima/Animus - self-combination, fully integrated
- Father - stern, powerful, authority
- Mother - nurturing, comfort
- Child - longing for innocence, rebirth, salvation
- Wise Old man - guidance, knowledge, wisdom
- Hero - champion, defender, rescuer
- Maiden - innocence, desire, purity
- Trickster - deceiver, liar, troublemaker
Tolkien - myth Eddas
Tolkien as a Beowulf scholar
Doll's House
Prologue as myth
Nada and Dream (as Kai'ckl)
- Nada knows she cannot marry the Endless even if they love each other. She is mortal, he is NOT, he is other
Rose Walker