Ariadne's Clue: A Guide to the Symbols of Humankind by Anthony Stevens (review)

Abstract

Il8ARTHURIANA Britons in Brittany and Galicia while continuing the story down to the mid-eleventh century. Part IV, 'Conquest, Survival, and Revival,' startswith the Norman Conquest, among other things pointing out the ironies involved in Duke William's recruiting ofBretons to participate in his English land grab. After that, however, Snyder focuses increasingly on the history ofWales or on the development ofBrittonic languages and literature. Part IVs final chapter starts with what he sees as the implications of Britons' loss ofindependent sovereignty, but then jumps to the antiquarian revival ofthe eighteenth century, afterwhich he endswith the incrediblyconvoluted debates about nationalism, separatism, and devolution that marked the last years of the twentieth. As this review ofcontents may suggest, probably Snyder covers more ground in this book than most readers would have anticipated. By implication his reasons for so doing appear on page 288 where he stresses: 'Of all their cultural traits, the Britons clung most tightly to their language and myth-history, two things that made them both distinct from their neighbors and, through the Arthurian legends, somewhat famous in the high Middle Ages.' Ifthat fame hasn't continued in quite the same way down to the present, the fact is that the ease with which Britons and Bretons assimilated into England and France demonstrates that, as King Arthur tells an old lady in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' we're all Britons now. That being the case, Snyder is surely correct in concluding that the 'British' state created by 1707 s Act ofUnion 'may not be so artificial after all.' There are those, however, who do not accept that conclusion, and their views are given full weight. In particular Snyder looks at the results ofthe referendum Tony Blair's government held in the fall of 1996 on a variety ofissues related to possible Brittonic aspirations, and what come through are the voters' divided opinions, not the author's predilections. Although this book contains more than a few typographical errors and a number ofbadlywritten passages, its virtues far outweigh its defects. It is well worth having. CHARLES T. WOOD Dartmouth College, Emeritus Anthony stevens, Ariadne's Clue:A Guide to the SymboL· ofHumankind. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Pp. xii, 465. isbn: 0-691-08661-3. $19.95. Anthony Stevens's Ariadne's Clue is a rich resource for any student of literature. Both a guide and a reference work, it is a thorough introduction to archetypes and symbology as well as a useful, easy-to-use thesaurus. Stevens divides his work into two parts. The first, 'Symbolism, Evolution, and Psychology,' explores in essay form the importance ofsymbols for humankind, addressing questions such as: what are symbols? how did they evolve? how do they help us understand reality? and, finally, how do they help us live better lives? The second, and much longer part, 'The ExplanatoryThesaurus,' functions as an encyclopedia, but an unusual one. Instead REVIEWS119 ofan alphabetical list ofentries with reductive definitions, it presents its material under fourheadings: the physical environment; culture and psyche; people, animals, and plants; and the body. Through this thematic approach, Stevens can explore the world ofsymbols anthropologically and mythically, moving from nature and the first things through religion and culture, the relationship ofthe individual to other living things, and, finally, to the body, the embodiment ofthe self. Since topics often overlap and may appear in more than one section, Stevens provides a symbol index which allows the reader to move among the sections with ease, trackingasymbol in order to compose a meaning. His method demands active reader participation. He cautions the reader to 'reflect for a few minutes on what the symbol means toyou. . . .Ifyou do this, you will be better prepared for what the text has to convey, for then the work ofconscious and unconscious integration can proceed in a way that is intrinsically more satisfying and psychologically more productive' (xii). In short, readers interact with the text to discover their own symbolic meanings in light ofthe trailingassociations ofmyth, history, and culture. Stevens's excellent glossary, which clearly defines key concepts, and his extensive bibliography will help readers on their search. Stevens sees language and symbol as antitheses: while language dissects and analyzes...