Abstract In "Narcissus and Goldmund", Hesse imagines women as aspects of the archetypal, universal Mother. The paper shows that this abstraction endows the feminine with a mystical power and stature, while simultaneously creating a stereotype which may serve to eclipse the desires and personhood of the individual woman. The paper shows that while it is possible to argue that Hesse shows a streak of misogyny, it might be more accurate to say merely that he idealizes women and is puzzled by them, and that some of his characters through this puzzlement in their private lives efface women.
From the Paper "Many other women also feel his slights when they try to approach him as complete humans rather than merely symbols of the Mother. For example, poor Maria --who is not beautiful enough to attract his attentions as he becomes more demanding of the Mother's beauty-- is not treated as if she were wholly human and he passes right over her feelings, though she loves him very deeply. Lene, as well, who ends up carrying his child, is hushed and even threatened (with losing her home and him) when she speaks of wanting him to give up his wandering ways and stay with her. She is forced to be falsely carefree and undemanding, even though her actual female nature seeks to keep and to nurture."
Abstract This paper provides an examination and analysis of Dali's famous painting, with prime concentration upon the elements and historical aspects of the particular piece of art. It discusses how his inspiration for "Metamorphosis of Narcissus" came from a conversation overheard between two fishermen discussing a local man who would stare at himself in a mirror for hours.
From the Paper "Salvador Dali was a Spanish artist who is considered to be one of the most impressive artists of the 20th century. His inspiration for Metamorphosis of Narcissus came from a conversation overheard between two fishermen discussing a local man who would stare at himself in a mirror for hours. One of the men described the man as having a "bulb in his head"; a common conversation meaning that he was mentally ill. Dali combined this image with the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus."
From the Paper "This study will examine what the two main characters in Herman Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund express about the nature of the individual human self. The study will also consider whether there are aspects of all people that are like the two characters.
Essentially, Narcissus is a creature of the mind and Goldmund is a creature of experience. Certainly it is one of Hesse's aims to show that there is some amount of karma or predestination at work in the lives of human beings, for Narcissus seems to have known from an early age his fate was to be found in contemplation in a monastery, while Goldmund is drawn to experience the world despite a willful longing to stay in a monastery himself.
However, another of Hesse's implied statements about human nature is that one may devote one's life to thought, or one may devote one's life to experience, but such a choice of paths does..."
From the Paper "Hermann Hesse explores different aspects of love in his novel Narcissus and Goldmund, including love of art and an awareness of the transience of love compared to the more lasting value of art. For Hesse, both love and art are depicted as methods for trying to avoid death, or at least to reduce its power. Both are doomed to failure because life and death are not really the widely different events people think they are, but the failure in each case is of a different order. There are also different levels of love or types of love, including spiritual love, sexual love, and love of self. These different types of love are represented in the interactions of the characters.
Narcissus represents self-love, a fact indicated by his name, yet he is also the instrument for bringing Goldmund a different view of the world and for making Goldmund see greater..."
Abstract This paper examines how Book Three of Allen Mandelbaum's translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is one of the most intriguing sections of Ovid's entire work. It looks at how, not only does it contain many of the more famous anecdotes within the "Metamorphoses", including the stories of Actaeon, Tireseas, and Narcissus and Echo, but how it it is one of the most thematically coherent sections of a work that is already largely an attempt to systematize and organize the corpus of traditional mythology by theme and relation between stories. It also looks at how all the stories in Book Three have one particular issue in common; every story, in some fashion, deals with the issue of sight as it relates to the gods.
From the Paper "Although Cadmus? tale, the first of book three, ultimately tells of his heroism and the founding of Thebes, it nonetheless bears an interesting relation to sight. As Cadmus look on at the snake that he has slain, he is warned not to look at its corpse, the voice saying, "Why Cadmus, do you stare at that slain snake"/You, too, will be a snake at whom men gaze.? This somewhat strange moment in the story, however, is very much the thread that links it to the rest of the book. Indeed, in the next section concerning Actaeon, it is also sight that plays a crucial role in his downfall. Because he sees Diana and her nymphs bathing, Actaeon is sentenced to death."
This paper discusses Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem "The Portrait", which celebrates love, art, the artist and eternity as the poet moves through time while gazing at a portrait of his lover.
Abstract This paper explains that the "The Portrait", a complex poem, operates on two different levels: First, the reader becomes aware of the relationship of the artist and his piece of work; and then the poem probes the connection existing between the artist, his sense of self and how those emotions shape the creation of art. The author points out that the rhyme scheme in this poem is ababccddc, which allows the poem to read smoothly, and the poet's use of words forces the reader to read slowly. The paper relates that Rosette includes the mythological story of Narcissus to further the idea that the poet is just as attached to his art as he is to the memory of his lover.
From the Paper "The first lines of the poem introduce us to a relationship between an object of art and the viewer of that piece of art. It is important to note that the poet is speaking to himself because this allows us to see how the poet is not just examining the work of art. The act of looking at his artwork moves him to explore himself as well. The notion of the exploration of self can also be seen when the poet compares the painting to the image he sees in a mirror. He writes, "It seems a thing to wonder on/As though mine image in the glass/Should tarry when myself am gone" (Rosetti 2-4). These statements reflect the story of Narcissus in that when the young man turns from his image, the object of his affection disappears."
Abstract A paper which examines Joseph Conrad's stylistic techniques which he uses to convey the general attitude toward African-Americans of his time, yet he himself is not acting as racist. This paper gives an explanation for Conrad's seemingly racist title and text, "The Nigger of the Narcissus".
From the Paper "Conrad's reversal shows that none of the white shipmates are racist towards James Wait. Although Conrad's white seamen present racist language towards Wait, there is no indication that they feel themselves superior to him. In fact, with Conrad's reversal of roles in slavery, constant allusions to slavery reveal that the white shipmates are inferior to Wait. "We served him in his bed with rage and humility; and he rewarded us by unconciliating criticism...he made himself master of every moment of our existence" (31). By giving such power to a black character, Conrad compares the black James Wait to a white slave holder."
Abstract Narcissism as it applies to psychology was first applied by Freud who drew it from the obvious connection to the Greek mythological character, Narcissus who was involved in an exclusive self-absorption. While considered a completely normal and natural stage in child development, narcissism is marked by that period in our lives when the entire world exists because we are there. In adolescence, after puberty, secondary narcissism occurs and is manifested in a sexual expression that is directed exclusively toward the self. Some degree of narcissism throughout all stages of life is considered normal as it is manifested in a healthy self-regard coupled with realistic aspirations for the self and life. The point at which narcissism becomes pathological and can be diagnosed as a personality disorder is when it begins to impair social function. Individuals with this disorder have little or no empathy for others and an inflated sense of their own importance and of the significance of their achievements. It is common for persons with this disorder to compare themselves to famous people of achievement and to express surprise when others do not share or voice the same perception. They feel entitled to great praise, attention, and deferential treatment by others, and have difficulty understanding or acknowledging the needs of others. They envy others and imagine that others are envious of them. The person with narcissistic personality disorder has no patience with others, and quickly strays from situations where he or she is not the center of attention and conversation. A person who demonstrates narcissistic personality disorder tends to maintain a highly exaggerated sense of self-importance and "specialness". Often, the clinically diagnosed narcissist is frequently occupied, to an excess, with fantasies about his/her own attributes and potentials for success in all aspects of life, and also generally depends upon confirmation from others for reinforcement of that self-image. The narcissist tends to experience difficulties maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships, stemming primarily from a distinct lack of empathy with a propensity for the taking of advantage of others in the interest of self-aggrandizement. Narcissism is often diagnosed comorbidly with antisocial personality disorders.
Abstract The poems "Venus and Adonis", by William Shakespeare, and "Hero and Leander", by Christopher Marlowe, are more than erotic poems with an added mythological element. Both poems explore unorthodox attitudes and personalities, as well as put a humorous spin on mythological tales. The paper shows that the poems have different messages about love; however, despite their outcomes, both poems end in tragedy. The paper examines the similarities and differences between the poems.
From the Paper "Another similarity between the two poems is the amount of lust that each author has intentionally embedded. For instance, Shakespeare has added the scene of the two horses that scamper off into the woods to mate in Venus and Adonis. This scene serves as a mirror in relation to Venus? pursuing Adonis. While Venus is tempting Adonis is every way she can imagine, Adonis? stallion "leaps" and "bounds" (Shakespeare 107) for a jennet. Shakespeare even says that the horse excelled a "common one" (293), insinuating that Venus is quite unlike any mortal. The horse is very aggressive in his approach, as is Venus in her pursue of Adonis. However, as the horses romp off into the woods, Venus was ?red and hot as coals of glowing fire,/Adonis is "red for shame, but frosty in desire" (35-6)."
Abstract This paper looks at how, in his essay ?Femininity,? the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, defines the early intellectual and emotional socialization of girls as a state of growing hostility towards the mother. It looks at how this initially hostile view of feminine consciousness and subconsciousness at the founding of psychoanalysis assumes that many feminist theorists would entirely disdain Freudian conceptualizations of the self, development, and the human psyche altogether, and how, indeed, many have. It also shows how other feminist theorists have attempted to reformulate Freud in a more creative and fertile fashion in terms of female subjectivity.
From the Paper "For instance, Judith Butler has suggested that rather than a given, gender is a ?performance,? in other words, an assumed body of characters, and a style of being that makes use of such symbolic tropes as the phallus, rather than something inherent to the self that transcends culture, as is suggested by Freud's essay on ?Femininity.? (Butler 121) Butler goes even father than creating a distinction between sex and gender, that is between social notions of female and male behavior and physical female and male bodies, and suggests that even the notion of two sexes is itself a linguistic and cultural construction and myth. To undercut the emphasis on anatomic representation in Freud, Butler stresses that gender and notions of femininity and masculinity can be performed with outer and totemic representations, representations and signs that can be assumed both by bodies traditionally gendered as male or female, or even bodies that are denied by the hegemonic text of our culture, such as hermaphrodites, that avoid gender distinction altogether."
Abstract This paper examines the lessons that can be learned from many of the stories in Ovid's "Metamorphosis". The paper explains how these stories, based on myths and mythical characters, can still provide insight into the human psyche and, if we learn from the examples of some of these characters, we can avoid some of the tragedies that they experienced.
From the Paper "Another story that operates on two levels is ?The Story of Echo and Narcissus.? In this story, Echo is punished for helping Jove meet with the nymphs on the mountains. Narcissus is punished for not only spurning Echo, but other that he "had visited frustration" (69). Echo's lesson for us story is to always tell the truth. Narcissus? lesson for us is to avoid self-love, for Narcissus "wanted himself" (70) and, as result, died trying to kiss his image in the water."
Abstract This paper explains that myths are fictional narratives or stories dating back to the remotest historical periods and thus are intimately connected with the roots of modern civilization. The author points out that the most logical explanation for the existence of myths is probably the fact that they function as a way of interpreting the world we live in. The paper presents the myths about Narcissus, Echo, the ants and the Myrmidons, Gilgamesh and Icarus.
From the Paper "The myth of Narcissus contains two such transformations: that of the nymph Echo and that of Narcissus. The story of the beautiful man who falls in love with his own reflected image has been overly interpreted and rehashed into works of art, but its meanings cannot be exhausted. As it is well known, the myth of Narcissus is the myth of self-love. The allegorical story expounds on Narcissus' tragic fate of being in love with his own image. It is obvious that the myth revolves around this archetypal self-love."
