The Magic Tinderbox
part five
the text:
One evening, he realized he had never used the old witch’s tinderbox.
So he rubbed it, and as it sparked, the dog with the eyes like saucers suddenly appeared.
“Tell me your wish, sir,” it said.
“...bring me heaps of money!” gasped the soldier in amazement.
A second later, the dog was back with a bag of coins.
Every time he rubbed the tinderbox, the dog brought him more money.
Then when he rubbed it quickly twice in succession, the dog with eyes like mill stones stood before him, carrying silver coins.
And when the soldier rubbed the tinderbox three times in a row, the third dog came carrying gold.
Rich all over again, the soldier chose the best hotel in the town and went back to leading the life of a fine gentleman.
kristo’s interpretation:
Well, the spring has once again filled up the well....so:
One evening, he realized he had never used the old witch’s tinderbox.
The fact that the fairytale insists on this being evening is significant...but I'm not sure just why.
t's Yin time vs. Yang time...with all of the possible associated connotations...and Yin / darkness / evening is also associated with the Feminine.
But in a way, it's also just the cyclic repetition of ordinary life that contains profound meaning.
In this case, a re-creation of the walk through the forest of the unconscious.
Jay Leno / Johnny Carson / David Letterman; Tonight Show / Late Show time.
And during this time, while reaching the very limits of his conscious / dominant resources he realizes that he has never used the witch's tinderbox...i.e. her grandfather's tinderbox.
The content of the unconscious is realized only within its proper place / time / context...and that context is facilitated by the super-extreme poverty of the conscious resource.
And make no mistake...there is a conscious realization concerning this booty (ha!) / bounty previously recovered from the unconscious.
Jung has very specifically addressed this issue in many of his monographs and lectures...but I am reminded of a particular explanation that he gave during his 1925 seminar...the notes of which are published as Analytical Psychology Notes of the Seminar Given in 1925 (Bollingen Series XCIX:3).
Anyone who is interested may read Lecture 8 (given on May 11, 1925) in which Jung discusses a particular vision concerning the connection between night and the rise of unconscious resources....
Now, as a corollary to what I’ve just written....it may come as something of a surprise to most people that all of this Jay Leno / David Letterman business is extremely important to Psyche.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that late night tv is probably the most common addictive and depleting substance used to avoid meeting the witch...and everything she has to offer.
And avoiding the witch during conscious time means that Psyche has to do her work any way she can...which then means either night terrors, daytime accidents...or both.
But lest you think I’m holier than thou...how else do you think I could possibly know this???
Hey...nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
So he rubbed it, and as it sparked, the dog with the eyes like saucers suddenly appeared
Well...yes...there’s a definite masturbatory quality to this scenario.
And therein must lie some of the unconscious, psychological meaning connected to the act and experience of male masturbation.
This Tinderbox is, after all, connected to the grandfather's testicles!
So along with the orgasmic experience, there arrives something singular...i.e. one of the dogs of the uterine cave.
That of the Copper / Venus / Astrologic variety.
And it is legitimate to imagine at this point, that these dogs might actually represent the 4th function...or at least another link to that missing 4th...i.e. Intuition.
“Tell me your wish, sir,” it said.
Now wish fulfillment is not a function of the unconscious...or of anything else in life, for that matter.
It IS however, the function of a mother in the specific role of caring for an infant...or is it????
A discussion of this nature is not what I intended...but we do tend to personify, project and humanize pets to imagine that they have the equivalent of human wishes, desires, and motives...when they more rationally have simple instinctual and animal needs.
Perhaps this same reality may apply in a posibly bell-curved average of diminishing proportion to human infants and children up until the presumed age of reason.
Whatever the truth...the fairy tale insists on this wish business.
Not need.
Not desire....
but wish.
It also clearly indicates the concept of communication (“Tell me...”)
...specifically with a content of the unconscious.
And so here this dog represents one of the unconscious functions.... i.e. either the secondary auxiliary function of Intuition...or the absolute Inferior Function of Feeling.
One of my Jungian mentors, Dr. Jack Miller, often spoke of dogs and cats in dreams as indicative of sexuality.
And it’s true that when examined, the symbolism (somewhat comically) fits.
(after all...this dog only appeared after rubbing something connected to testicles!)
Dog (and cat) instincts are only partially domesticated...and unpredictably autonomous.
Especially when in heat.
As Cesar Milan helpfully explains, owning a dog is quite a responsibility.
And learning to properly deal with problematic dog behavior requires an assertive and active change in the character of the dog owner...something that’s more than just similar to what this fairytale is getting at.
Somehow, the soldier (now in extremis) has found a way to powerfully control his sexual urges...and perhaps something more...as we shall see.
“...bring me heaps of money!” gasped the soldier in amazement.
A second later, the dog was back with a bag of coins.
Every time he rubbed the tinderbox, the dog brought him more money.
Then when he rubbed it quickly twice in succession, the dog with eyes like mill stones stood before him, carrying silver coins.
And when the soldier rubbed the tinderbox three times in a row, the third dog came carrying gold.
Rich all over again, the soldier chose the best hotel in the town and went back to leading the life of a fine gentleman.
Well...with his newfound capacity for control, it seems that all his wishes are fulfilled.
And it is here that the discussion of just what this control represents can branch out to include masturbation, thumb-sucking, and even money-making.
All tied up, perhaps, in the archetypal apron of Power.
But this is a discussion we can come back to.
What I notice here is the arrival of the 3 different dogs...each seeming to represent (as previously mentioned) a different Yin / Feminine / Occult art...i.e. Astrology, Witchcraft, and Alchemy.
Now in terms of a man’s psychology, Jung felt that the archetype of the Anima was an expression of his unconscious Feminine self.
He also felt that there were 4 stages to (or levels of) the Anima, represented first by Eva / Ewa / Eve...the aspect of primal, earthy fertility.
The Venus of Willendorf, if you will.
The second would be Gretchen...of Goethe's Faust...essentially signifying the pure lust and sexual desire of the human animal.
The third is represented by Mary, the Virgin Mother.
Suffice it to say that this is idealized, non-sexual love that is (whether pre or post Oedipal) consistent with medieval courtly love...and indeed approaches the realm of worship.
But once again...we're faced with the question (and problem) of the Fourth.
Jung's postulate for this is the Gnostic Sophia.
And it is here again, that I leave the discussion for another time.
For now these 4 aspects of man’s Feminine nature correspond to the 4 aspects or levels of character that must be developed in order to lift a man out of his simple one, two, or even three dimensional existence, and to create the enduring traits of Depth, Maturity, and Wisdom.
It’s now december 2009, and nearly 3 years since I wrote these first 5 installments...
I’ve since done a thorough job of interpreting this fairytale (and 3 others), in my jungian lecture series in Chicago.
The only problem is...none of it was written down or recorded...
This winter (january 2010) I’ll be taking a semester off from my usual teaching gig to complete this jungian interpretation of the Tinderbox in writing.
And as my written project progresses I expect to publish the updates here...
Now as much as I love doing this, it’s time consuming and expensive for me to just sit down and write...
So please, if you find my work to be of personal benefit to you, consider making a small donation to help support kristo’s Fairy Tale Project.
I’m grateful for any sum you care to donate...
And if this current writing project proves successful, I can immediately proceed to bring you my interpretation of more fairytales
I guarantee that if you like what I’ve written so far...you’re going to love what happens in the rest of the story...
Thank you
kristo
continue reading The Magic Tinderbox...
part one
part two
part three
part four
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