Tristan & Isolde Der Mythos Des Christlichen Abenlands

As the title shows, these lines deal with the myth of Tristan and Isolde, the myth of the Christian Occident. On the basis of two works: L’amour et l’Occident by Denis de Rougemont who primarily considered the myth from the point of view of cultural history in its relationship to Catharism and to courtly love in the twelfth century, and We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love by Robert A. Johnson, an attempt to synthesize Christianity and the work of C.G. Jung, the content of the myth is presented using the libretto of Richard Wagner's opera, at the same time pointing out what Wagner omitted and changed of the medieval originals.Tristan's search for his Anima (in the Jungian sense) "the islands of consciousness" beyond the sea of unconsciousness, the love and death potion and the process of individuation are also dealt with.“Romantic love” as described by the myth is a mistake, according to Robert A. Johnson - the Occidental mistake par excellence. The levels of the Anima on the one hand and of ego-awareness on the other are confused in that an attempt is made to live out at the earthly level the Anima which is not of this world. In that case, it is only in death that this duality can be made a unity, one whole, a synthesis. Here a further investigation is made as to whether this is really so and why. Finally, the question is asked whether "romantic love" occurs by mistake also in mysticism and in art, or whether it is due rather to the development of a higher level of consciousness which is required for passing through an essential initiation process and as a precondition for a work of art. If quite simply, it is not a matter of the Royal Way …