Shadows and illuminations6/30/2023 ![]() Pema Chödrön, an American Buddhist nun, John S. … Neary supports his hypothesis with close reference to an eclectic range of theorists. One truly finds God when one learns to 'relax in the midst of chaos' and accept that the contrary elements within one's being are interdependent and ultimately transformative. Both the extremes of repression and complete licence in response to the 'shadow', Neary asserts, result in serious limitations to spiritual growth. Recognition of the 'shadow' in personal identity allows one to confront, own and control subliminal aspects of one's nature that would otherwise be repressed or become destructive. His consistent hypothesis is that only by dissolving the dichotomy between spiritual darkness and commonly accepted aspirations regarding spiritual enlightenment (light) can true understanding and personal growth occur. "John Neary's latest work is a sustained application of Post-Jungian theory to a wide variety of literary and cinematic texts. ![]() It is a disturbing discovery of deep imperfection and apparent perversity - an encounter with what Jungian psychology dubs the shadow. In each case a limited, somewhat naive protagonist goes out, at night, into the darkness (the streets of New York in the case of Kubrick's protagonist, the New England forest in the case of Hawthorne's) and discovers things about himself and the world that he previously was unaware of. Stanley Kubrick's film 'Eyes Wide Shut' and Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale 'Young Goodman Brown', which present uncannily similar stories, exemplify the book's theme: both are examples of a dark-sidenarrative. ![]() Combining literary criticism with Jungian approaches, the analysis focuses on well known religious, spiritual and psychological writings, with special reference to the work of James Hillman. This book examines literary texts from various genres - prose fiction, plays, film - in order to explore the way dark and enlightening spiritual journeys are presented in literature.
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