Jung, Tolkien and the Archetypes of Middle Earth

The characters of Tolkien’s masterpiece,The Lord of the Rings, are remarkable images that are similar to Jung’s description of archetypes, structural components of the psyche, such as Self, shadow, anima, animus, wise old man, and king. In this workshop, we will discuss these images as they appear in Tolkien’s work. Examples include the One Ring, Hobbits, Gandalf, Elves and Dwarves, Aragorn and Arwen, Tom Bombadil and Eowyn, the only human woman in the tale and her decisive role in the battles of the War of the Ring.

We will continue our discussion of archetypal images as they relate to the individuation process by looking at the personal aspects of the shadow (the Hobbit Lobelia, Gollum) and the collective aspects (Sauron, Shelob, Nazgul).  We will trace the path of the Hobbits as they navigate the treacherous waters of the unconscious.

We will finally conclude by discussing how the work of these two men provides a better understanding of modern-day issues, such as addiction and depression, and suggest ways of addressing these concerns.

Click here to see the accompanying Friday lecture.