December 19, 2007

• Language Games:

  Tutelary Figures

  An entry in memory of
  Dr. Joseph L. Henderson,
  Jungian analyst, who died
  on Nov. 17 at 104

  (An obituary appears in
  today's New York Times.)

  
  Some remarks by Dr. Henderson:
  

  
  The myth of the hero is the most common and the best known myth
  in the world... classical mythology... Greece and Rome... Middle Ages... Far East... contemporary primitive tribes.
  It also appears in dreams... obvious dramatic... profound... importance. P. 101

  ...
  structurally very similar... universal pattern...
  over and over again... a tale of... miraculous... humble
  birth... early proof of superhuman strength... rapid rise
  to prominence... triumphant struggle with the forces of evil... fallibility to the sin of pride (hybris)... and his fall
  through betrayal or a "heroic" sacrifice that ends in
  his death. P. 101

  ... another important characteristic... provides a clue... the early weakness... is balanced by... strong "tutelary"
  figures... who enable him to perform the superhuman tasks that
  he cannot accomplish unaided. Theseus had Poseidon... Perseus
  had Athena... Achilles had Cheiron... the wise centaur,
  as his tutor. P. 101 

  And Stan Carlisle had
  Dr. Lilith Ritter:

  

  See also the noir entry on
  "Nightmare Alley" for
  Winter Solstice 2002,
  as well as a solstice-related
  commentary on I Ching
  Hexagram 41, Decrease.

  Related material:

  

  Dr. Dyane N. Sherwood and
  Dr. Joseph L. Henderson, authors
  of Transformation of the Psyche
  (Routledge, Nov. 7, 2003)

  Dr. Henderson is said to
  have been, in his youth,
  a student of Thornton Wilder
  as well as of Dr. Jung.

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