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Where the Shadows Lie: A Jungian Interpretation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
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, Legoli, 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 theory 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.
- GenresPsychology
232 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 5, 2020
This is a book I wanted to love, and indeed there is much to love about it.
Skogemann has a great appreciation for Tolkien's genius and an understanding of Jung's wisdom. In the first three-quarters of the books, she does a great job showing how Tolkien's great tale manifests, if you well, Jung's ideas of individuation and the archetype.
But there are problems. Sometimes she appears not to have been thorough in checking Tolkien and gets facts--and sometimes names--wrong. She seems to have been working from a Danish translation, so maybe those names are as they were in the Danish edition.
She starts to ramble toward the end jumping around from theme to theme and summarizing other tales of fantastic and speculative fiction. And that jumping around--and those summaries--doesn't help much to understand the deeper meaning of The Lord of the Rings.
All that said, the first 150 pages or so of the book are solid and merit the attention of Tolkien fans.
Skogemann has a great appreciation for Tolkien's genius and an understanding of Jung's wisdom. In the first three-quarters of the books, she does a great job showing how Tolkien's great tale manifests, if you well, Jung's ideas of individuation and the archetype.
But there are problems. Sometimes she appears not to have been thorough in checking Tolkien and gets facts--and sometimes names--wrong. She seems to have been working from a Danish translation, so maybe those names are as they were in the Danish edition.
She starts to ramble toward the end jumping around from theme to theme and summarizing other tales of fantastic and speculative fiction. And that jumping around--and those summaries--doesn't help much to understand the deeper meaning of The Lord of the Rings.
All that said, the first 150 pages or so of the book are solid and merit the attention of Tolkien fans.
Displaying 1 of 1 review