Reading Goethe at Midlife

Book excerpt: The transition from the first and second stages of life (childhood and youth) to its third and final stages (old age and death) is what Jung called the midlife crisis. This book explores the idea of midlife crisis by means of a close reading of Jung's paper The Stages of Life. Read in terms of traditional wisdom-literature, this turning-point represents not just a crisis but also a moment of decision, of opportunity, and of hope. Also included is a detailed analysis of one of the late, great poems of Goethe, Primal Words. Orphic, where the author uses Jungian ideas to recover the vital significance of this fascinating and compelling text.