The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (A Psychological Interpretation of Mythology).
by RANK, Otto
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Portland, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Company, 1914. First edition in English, Octavo. iii, [1, blank], 100 pp. Publisher brown printed wrappers. Some erosion to spine (loss of "The" of title), front corners with light chips. Front cover with small oval stamp and remains of paper label (no other markings). A very good copy of an important work by Rank.Mythology has come into its own as a field of serious study since the days of Frazier's Golden Bough. When one reads the title of this book one usually thinks of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell but one of the first to study this myth and its meanings was personality psychologist Otto Rank."One of his earliest works was The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, in which he examines such birth myths as those of the Babylonian kings Gilgamesh and Sargon, the Hindu hero Karna, The Persian king Cyrus, The Greek heroes Oedipus, Hercules, Paris, and Perseus, the Roman founders Romulus and Remus, the Celtic hero Tristan, the Germanic heroes Siegfried and Lohengrin, and even Moses, Buddha, and Jesus. He finds the same pattern over and over again: There is a king and queen or god and goddess or other highly placed couple; something makes the hero's conception difficult or impossible; there is a dream or oracle prophesizing his birth, often including a warning of danger to the father; the infant hero is usually left to die in a box, basket, or small boat, floating on the water; he is rescued and nurtured by either animals or people of very low birth; he grows up, discovers his true parents, takes revenge on his father, and finally receives the honors due him.Rank finds the myths relatively simple to understand: As children, we worship our parents. But as we get older, they begin to get in our way, and we discover they were not all they seemed. The myth reflects a wish in all of us for a return to the comforting days when we thought our parents were perfect and gave us the attention we felt we deserved. The box or basket symbolizes the womb, and the waters our birth. The "people of low birth" symbolize our weak and unappreciative parents. The king and queen symbolize what they should be like. And the revenge is our anger at how they have mistreated us" (Dr. C. G. Boeree).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Nat DesMarais Rare Books, ABAA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 74822
- Title
- The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (A Psychological Interpretation of Mythology).
- Author
- RANK, Otto
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Company
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1914
Terms of Sale
Nat DesMarais Rare Books, ABAA
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Nat DesMarais Rare Books, ABAA
Biblio member since 2012
Portland, Oregon
About Nat DesMarais Rare Books, ABAA
Nat DesMarais Rare Books specializes in books on the Sierra Nevada (particularly Yosemite), the Mojave, and California books in general. We also deal in the art of the American West, voyages and travels and nineteenth century literature.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...