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Product Description
From Library Journal
On the heels of Robert Bly's best-selling Iron John ( LJ 11/15/90), comes this slim volume which offers quite a different assessment of maleness and its self-completion. Johnson, author of Inner Work ( LJ 7/86) and We ( LJ 2/1/84), uses three literary archetypes: Don Quixote (simple, two-dimensional man); Hamlet (complex, four-dimensional man); and Faust (complete, four-dimensional man). As a result of modern education and urbanization, Johnson posits, Western man is no longer simple; yet he lacks self-determination and therefore is trapped. The insights found here seem applicable to universal self-fulfillment and provocation (e.g., what significance does Faust's victory over the devil hold for men in these AIDS-ridden, economically troubled times?). Also, where Bly's book demands action, Johnson's is purely cerebral and more interesting to readers familiar with classic literature.
- David Nudo, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- David Nudo, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Presenting an original and vital model for psychological development, the brilliant and pioneering author ofHe, She, and We offers a new understanding of the stages of personal growth through which maturity and wholeness can be achieved.
Using quintessential figures from classical literature--Don Quixote, Hamlet, and Faust--Robert Johnson shows us three clearly defined stages of consciousness development. He demonstrates how the true work of maturity is to grow through these levels to the self-realized state of completion and harmony.
In Johnson's view, we all reach the stages depicted by Don Quixote, Hamlet, and Faust at various times of our lives. The three represent levels of consciousness within us, each vying for dominance. Don Quixote portrays the innocent child, while Hamlet stands for our self-conscious need to act and feel in control though we have no real connection to our inner selves. Faust embodies the master of the true self, who has gained awareness by working through the stages.
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First Sentence
We find a near-perfect representation of two-dimensional man-the simple peasant man-in the Spanish masterpiece Don Quixote. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
We find a near-perfect representation of two-dimensional man-the simple peasant man-in the Spanish masterpiece Don Quixote. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not One Of His Best,
By
This review is from: Transformation: Understanding the Three Levels of Mascul (Paperback)
Johnson is one of my favorite authors. He's a Jungian analyst who writes about myths and how they can tell us a lot about our life experiences and why we do what we do and why things happen to us. In this (short) book (105 written pages) he writes about the three levels of consciousness of men and gives a literary example of each. Don Quixote is Two-Dimensional Man (or simple man), Hamlet is Three-Dimensional Man (or complex man), and Faust is Four-Dimensional Man (or enlightened man). Johnson describes how men go through these stages, but sometimes become stuck at complex man because they have become so educated that they cannot give up their knowledge and return to the simplicity that can be seen in enlightened man. Although there are some interesting statements made in this text, there isn't much new and different here from Johnson's other work, and what is new and different is not "fleshed out" to give the reader a feeling of fully understanding what is being discussed. Although I'll continue to read Johnson, this is not one of his best works.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking,
By
This review is from: Transformation: Understanding the Three Levels of Mascul (Paperback)
Robert Johnson is a great first encounter with Jungian Psychology. The books are short and his points are direct. When you see the size of his books you first think that there isn't much to them, but it isn't long before you recant. I was somewhere near page five when I realized that I was considering the world from an entirely different introspection. Johnson explains how literature, myths and even ancient stories are consistent with overall human nature. By explaining the meaning of classic stories, Johnson explains the dilemmas of mankind, how they are timeless and universal.In Transformations, Johnson explains how the masculine psyche begins as a Don Quixote, progresses into a Hamlet, and seeks to become a Faust. Some people live their whole lives without making it, but they do cause themselves a lot of trouble along the way. Johnson doesn't offer a solution but a path to take to find your own way. Maybe the most comforting thing in these books is the idea that we're all struggling to get somewhere and we're not in it alone. It certainly helps my understanding of those I've come into conflict with.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple, elegant and very accessible,
By Karina (California dreamin') - See all my reviews
This review is from: Transformation: Understanding the Three Levels of Mascul (Paperback)
Jungian analyst Robert A. Johnson has a beautiful way of taking complex Jungian theory and writing about it in a pithy, lucid way that makes Jung's ideas highly accessible, and his book "Transformation" is no exception. Using three well known characters from literature, Don Quixote, Hamlet and Faust, he maps out the three levels of consciousness in our lives, from the innocent, fantasy creating ego, through Hamlet's existential despair to Faust's mid-life confrontation with the shadow.It is fascinating reading, especially for men and women around mid-life, who are beginning to sense a creeping restlessness in their lives. Johnson writes about the mid-life struggle with such authenticity, not only validating what the reader may be experiencing in her/his own life, but mercifully offering a way through it, using Faust's journey as the guide. A must read for anyone on the path to know oneself, especially any man or woman who is nearing (or in the thick of) mid-life.
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