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Where the Shadows Lie takes the reader on a journey through Tolkien's Middle-earth, following the hobbits, their companions, and the characters they encounter on their quest. Along the way, Skogemann reveals the deep symbolic layers that are the source of joy and enchantment that many find in reading The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn, with the aid of Gandalf, Legoli, and Gimli, ascends to the throne and becomes the center of a great, unified kingdom-a symbol of the collective Self. The four hobbits, representing individual ego-consciousness, are transformed by the quest and acquire the psychological tools they need to renew the Shire-the small domain enfolded in the great.
Jung's theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes provide a key to understanding the forces of fantasy that are so powerful in Tolkien's masterpiece-and thereby a key to understanding ourselves and the events of the outside world in our modern times.
About the author
Pia Skogemann, born in Copenhagen, has a master's degree in comparative religion and has been a Jungian analyst in private practice since 1978. She is a co-founder of the C.G. Jung Institute in Copenhagen and has served as a consulting editor for
Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice since 2006. First published in 1984, she is the author of twelve books and numerous articles on femininity, individuation, fairy tales, dreams, and archetypes. This is her first work in English. For more information, visit www.piaskogemann.dk.
