The Myth of the Birth of a Hero by Otto Rank
January 23rd 2007 07:43
The prominent feature of a hero across different mythologies are the mysterious circumstances surrounding his birth. They are born in difficult circumstances and are brought up in a different family than their own. At one point in his life, the hero becomes aware of his true parentage.
Otto Rank belonged to the innre circle of Freud's admirers and in this work, rank applies the psycho-analytic theory of Freud to these myths, making this one of the first attempts at psycho-analytic interpretation of mythologies. This became a cottage industry thereafter.
The heroes Rank examines are Sargon, Karna, Lohengrin, Moses, Perseus,Telephus, Romulus, Hercules, Gilgamesh, Paris, Jesus, Tristan, Siegfried, Cyrus and of course Oedipus.
Rank briefly describes the legends surrounding the heroes and then gives his interpretation of myths. The list is not particularly exhaustive and is notable for complete exclusion of any female heroes. Heroines like Atalanta, Semiramis and Shakunthala too have the similar themes surrounding their births. One flaw of psycho-analyis was the insignificance of female psychology and this study reveals the lacuna quite early on.
Otto Rank belonged to the innre circle of Freud's admirers and in this work, rank applies the psycho-analytic theory of Freud to these myths, making this one of the first attempts at psycho-analytic interpretation of mythologies. This became a cottage industry thereafter.
The heroes Rank examines are Sargon, Karna, Lohengrin, Moses, Perseus,Telephus, Romulus, Hercules, Gilgamesh, Paris, Jesus, Tristan, Siegfried, Cyrus and of course Oedipus.
Rank briefly describes the legends surrounding the heroes and then gives his interpretation of myths. The list is not particularly exhaustive and is notable for complete exclusion of any female heroes. Heroines like Atalanta, Semiramis and Shakunthala too have the similar themes surrounding their births. One flaw of psycho-analyis was the insignificance of female psychology and this study reveals the lacuna quite early on.
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