A Jungian 'Tristan & Iseult'

I'm reading a wonderful book which tells, and makes extensive commentary on, that most Celtic of all stories, 'Tristan & Iseult'.

I've gotten this far:

Two things are required for a hero: a sword and a harp. With the sword a hero approaches the world aggressively, takes control of the situation, takes a strong position, defeats the adversary. It symbolizes the mind, the discriminating intellect that divides and analyzes. It figuratively "cuts through" problems and ideas to understand them; it represents our logical, critical faculty.

There are times we need to be assertive and strong, but there are also times when neither logic nor force will avail; then we need to turn to the harp.

The harp represents the power to develop a sense of values, to affirm what its good and true, to appreciate the beautiful; the harp enables the hero to put the sword in the service of the noble ideal. To be complete, the hero must have both. Without the sword, the harp becomes ineffectual, but without the harp, the sword is reduced to self-focused brute force. People confuse these two powers more in relationship than in any other area of human life. We often hear a man and woman trying to "settle things" by arguing, criticizing, poking holes in each other's arguments, splitting hairs. Then they wonder why all the spontaneous feeling of warmth and love has gone from their time together! These kind of negotiations are always "sword" activities.

The sword cannot build relationships, settle anything, or bind together. It can only rip apart. To heal and build relationship, we must use the language of the harp, giving respect, expressing love, feeling, and devotion. The harp heals and binds together, the sword wounds and cuts asunder.

There comes a time in life when wielding the sword, or rather, operating on the strengths of the intellect alone, doesn't provide all the answers. We don't know enough, we don't have enough resources to resolve an impossible situation. At that point we need to let go, stop trying to force things to happen, or control others, or even ourselves, and step back and wait on the natural flow of the universe.

To enter a boat without oar or sail, taking only the harp, means to wait patiently, listen to a soft voice within for wisdom that comes not from logic or action, but from intuition, the lyrical inner poet who writes from a heart full of feeling and not from the head.

We see Tristan cast upon the sea. We hear the sound of the harp floating above the waves. Drawn by a power that is high above his understanding, Tristan comes at last to Ireland. And there Iseult awaits him.



I took a class in Medieval History in highschool, and it was then that I read Tristan & Iseult. I think it was a bit wasted on me, and probably on most of us there, because in spite of being a love story, it isn't a young person's story. Tristan and Iseult are in their 40's when the events take place, and generations of teenagers have scratched their heads over that one. What would someone in their 40's know about love?? The recent movie with Sophia Myles made the mistake of departing from the centuries-old story by casting youthful leads, which turned it into another "teen" romance, and ultimately a flop at the box office.

It's about love to be sure, but even more so it's about discovering what we lack in ourselves, as well as rediscovering the strengths that we have. I think it was Picasso who stated that we have to grow old before we can be young.

At any rate, I'm getting a lot more from the story this time around then I did close to 30 years ago.