The Manticore (The Deptford Trilogy, #2) 
by 

Robertson Davies, 

 

Michael Dirda (Introduction)

 

BlackOxford's review 

Jul 11, 2017  ·  edit

really liked it

bookshelves: canadian 

The Foreigners We Deserve

A remarkable journey of Jungian psychoanalysis. Manticore will therefore appeal to Platonists (as myself) who recognise the limits of language but also its necessity in figuring out what we are. Aristotelian scientific types are likely to be disappointed. Freud thought in terms of flaws in the psyche brought about through trauma, Jung in terms of psychic purpose and its adaptations. There is no rational way to choose between the two perspectives; the facts fit either. Aesthetically, however, Jung takes the upper hand; and Davies knows why: human beings are remarkably elegant creatures even at their least attractive. Understanding this basic principle makes life interesting as well as bearable. We are all full of foreigners, alien psychic beings, vying for attention and supremacy. The more we reject their presence, the more power they exert. A possible lesson here for Trump in his policy formulation as well as in his personal l