Ring of Power: Symbols and Themes Love Vs. Power in Wagner's Ring Cycle and in Us- A Jungian-Feminist Perspective (Jung on the Hudson Book Series)

For first-timers the gods and demi-gods may, at first, be unfamiliar, but their situations are not, and the reader quickly begins to recognize them as old acquaintances. Bolen's book is a great starting place for someone approaching "The Ring" for the first time. She successfully reveals what Fischer Diskeau called the "domestic tragedy" that underlies all the philosophical layers of Wagner's trilogy. It's very easy to follow her delineation of the all-too-familiar family dynamics of husband/wife; father/son; father/ daughter(and so on), and the opposing dynamics of power and love that manifest themselves in the internal conflicts of this family and to some degree in all families. What she says here can be applied to many other great classics,as well, but most importantly for me, is the reasonable extrapolation that can be made from her book that we are living in a world in which patriarchal dominance has run amok and has us in the same morass in which Wotan finds himself as he struggles to end the mess he has caused because of the excessive wielding of the power of the sword (or spear) and the renunciation of love and compassion. I think Wagner was more prescient than he is given credit for being when he crafted this miraculous vision of (Western) civilization gone wrong, and its demise . No wonder "The Ring" is more popular now than ever before.

If you like the Ring and if you are also a clinical psychologist, this is the book for you. Not only does it make watching the Ring much more meaningful, it also adds a dimension in your counseling.

So much information here. Love this author

Well, I finally got around to start reading this book. It is too late for me to return, and I did not catch the whole "feminist" perspective title when I ordered. I am not sure when this finally clicked with me, but something in the writing was not jiving with me, and ha I must have missed the title "feminist perspective". Not my thing.

I had to read this for a class. A quick read and a good introduction to Jungian concepts and an analysis of the Ring. However, as the title suggests she is a Jungian feminist and this certainly colors her interpretations of the symbols. I would recommend reading it with Richard Donington's "Wagner's Ring and it's symbols"

Very good book to read

This is a very personal take on Der Ring. She states that she specifically avoided reading other books about the ring before completing her's so that the analysis would come from her and not be influenced by other sources. The analysis is based upon her training as a Jungian analyst and her experience with patients over the years.On the plus side, we get a direct look at how a modern day Jungian sees the story and the symbols and how she relates them to her particular world view. There are headings like "Siglinde as Victim: The Psychology of Abuse" and "The Authoritarian Father and the Dysfunctional Family". She uses the characters and plot as a jumping off point to discuss particular aspects her brand of psychology. It is fairly stimulating and interesting.However, because she makes no attempt to contextualize the story or to understand what Wagner's intentions were I don't feel the book actually illuminated the Operas for me. It's kind of like having a a Catholic priest explaining Buddhist iconography according to Catholic doctrine. No matter how great the analysis is, the original intent behind the work is lost because the artist and his mental world are not considered. Decontextualizing an artistic work might be a valid method of analysis of art, but for me it isn't a very satisfying one.The other drawback to the book is the music isn't examined. Wagner made a point of telling people that half of the message was contained in the music.In summary then, if you would like an interesting read about how a modern Jungian explains Der Ring without reference to Wagner or his time, then this book is for you. If you are looking to understand what Wagner was trying to communicate with Der Ring, then you should look elsewhere.

Not knowing much about Jungian psychology, except for what I remember from my Pysch 101 class, I found this book very easy to get into, given that I knew the basic story of both the Ring cycle and the mythology behind it. I appreciated the ability to see how these archetypes are introduced and challenged in the cycle. While it is a bit simplistic, as one other commenter wrote, it is such so that those who do not have a background in psychology can understand where Bolen is coming from in her approach of the text and music.

Clear outline of each of the operas. Analysed with Jungian and femminist psychological insights. Good companion to the Copenhagen and Stuttgart Ring recordings.