The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life
by James Hillman
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Book Summary Information
Author: James HillmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-07-05
ISBN: 0345424050
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Ballantine Books
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Book Reviews of The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life
Book Review: LAST IMAGE, LOST QUESTION!
Summary: 5 Stars
In an epoch when appearing younger has become a sort of social hysteria this book of James Hillman sets old age in a completely different perspective, recovering and exalting the ancient sense of completion which many a human culture of the past assigned to the last span of life. Character, which Hillman sees as a distinctive unrepeatable pattern of qualities, distilled by time into a unique imaginal constellation, increases in clarity and definition as age advances. From this original standpoint, aging is like a precious refining process, not like something to be fought as a menace of physical and psychical decline. In other words, Hillman sees old age as the part of life when the unique image we contain passes, thru a final development phase, to a stage of perfect, as it were, artistic manifestation, an epiphany of our innermost truth. We become the beings we were since the start of our lives and we project our self into the souls of other human beings in the form of character. In this way, we succeed in remaining, but first we have tried to last as much as we could according to an instinct of self-preservation deeply etched into our biological roots. However, after trying to extend our life to the extreme something inside ourselves silently leads us to a substantial change of attitude and so we become more inclined to abandon the egotistic grasp over the outside world to make room for a new philosophical acceptance of our external decline and transform our bleeding wounds into new spiritual energies. All kinds of defects, limitations and difficulties typical of old age are reinterpreted by Hillman, against current mainstream opinion, in the light of their meaning as expressions of an archetypal scenario. Behavioural tics like frequent repetitions of personal anecdotes, increasing physical shortcomings like seriously weakened short-term memory and cardiac deficiencies, temperamental fits like easy irritability and even untamed eroticism are all seen as necessities paving a sort of hidden path that has to be thoroughly walked to fulfil a secret purpose of self-authentication. As is typical of Hillman's Psyche-centered Weltanschauung the overall picture which forms into your mind after reading this, as well as many of his previous works, is one of intense aesthetic spell and suggestiveness. But what is precisely suggested and evoked remains in the realm of undisclosed significance and you are like a child who is brought back in front of a timeless threshold without being given any hint to what may be lying beyond. Hillman, in this respect, quite honestly admits to have intentionally avoided to place Death at the core of his discourse, for Death devours everything referred to Her. If we want to get life out of life, Hillman seems to suggest, we should avoid granting Death the centerstage. Yes, this sounds quite comforting and charmingly vitalistic, but can that "final touch" bringing our character and our image the ultimate seal of a lifelong perfecting process be the only outcome of our existence? And, if we are not totally satisfied with this limited, if "artistic", outcome doesn't our lingering, unanswered desire to survive Death belong perhaps to the same archetypal scenario the Hillmanian Gods assigned to us, poor mortals, as the very fabric of the life they gave us? And, if so, why did They choose such a destiny for us?
Summary of The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life
In his powerful bestseller The Soul's Code, James Hillman brilliantly illuminated the central importance of character to our spiritual and emotional lives. Now, in this magnificent new book, Hillman completes his exploration of character with a profound and revolutionary reflection on life's second half."Character requires the additional years," declares Hillman. "The last years confirm and fulfill character." Far from blunting or dulling the self, the accumulation of experience concentrates the essence of our being, heightening our individual mystery and unique awareness of life. Drawing on his grounding in Jungian psychology, Hillman explains here the archetypes and myths that govern the self's realignment in our final years.
The Force of Character follows an enriching journey through the three stages of aging--lasting, the deepening that comes with longevity; leaving, the preparation for departure; and left, the special legacy we each bestow on our survivors. Along the way the book explores the meanings and often hidden virtues of characteristic physical and emotional changes, such as loss of memory, alterations in sleep patterns, and the mysterious upsurge in erotic imagination.
Steeped in the wisdom of a lifetime, radiant with Hillman's reading in philosophy, poetry, and sacred texts, charged with a piercing clarity, The Force of Character is a book that will change--and affirm--the lives of all who read it.
This philosophy/psychology work on character and aging is not a self-help book but rather a self-perception book--philosophical, wise, and deep. "What does aging serve? What is its point?" asks James Hillman, and proceeds to examine those questions fully. The loss of short-term memory, for example, enables us to better recall the past and review our lives. "On the one hand, brain cells may be flaking off like autumn leaves in a deciduous forest; on the other hand, a clearing is being made, leaving more space for occasional birds to alight." Hillman also likens short-term memory loss to a warehouse packed full of the inventory of life, emptying the latest files "to preserve enough emotional space for evaluating what has been there for a long time." Other aging markers also have benefits for character, reflection, and imagination. We wake up at night not only because our old bodies have to urinate, for example, but also because our minds are open to the wonders and mysteries of night.
Hillman discusses the three major changes that character undergoes in later life. First is "lasting," which is the desire to live as long as possible. Next is "leaving," where we change from holding on to letting go, and our character becomes more exposed and confirmed. The final stage is "left": "what is left after you have left," and Hillman interweaves all the connotations of that word. --Joan Price
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