Divine Madness: Archetypes of Romantic Love examines the transforming experience of romantic love in literature, myth, religion, and everyday life. A series of psychological meditations on the nature of romantic love and human relationship, this Fisher King Press publication takes the perspective that human love is a species of divine love and that our experience of romantic love both conceals and reveals the ultimate Lover and Beloved. John Haule draws on depth psychology, the mystical traditions of the world, and literature from Virgil to Milan Kundera to lead the reader inside the mind and heart of the lover. Each chapter explores a characteristic aspect of relationship, such as seduction and love-play, the rapture of union, the agony of separation, madness, woundedness, and transcendence. Focusing on the soulful and spiritual meaning of these experiences, Divine Madness sheds light on our elations, obsessions, and broken hearts, but it also reconnects us with the wisdom of time immemorial. As a practicing Jungian analyst and former professor of religious studies, John Haule masterfully guides his readers through the labyrinth of everyday experience, and the often hidden layers of archetypal realities, sketching a philosophy of romantic love through the stories of the world's literature and mythology. Reviews: "John R. Haule’s wonderful study of Romantic Love . . . is a first-rate psychological, literary and spiritual study . . . The author’s passion and courage in delving into his own experience . . . makes reading it a powerful experience in its own right. . . . One cannot help seeing oneself reflected in the magic mirror of Haule’s study and deriving light and succor therefrom. Divine Madness is one of the rarest of books—one that really does speak to the heart as well as to the mind."
—Timothy O’Neill, Gnosis Magazine "The author brings us wonderful stories from all over the world that point to the lover’s task: to see through to the soul of the beloved. Even our tangled relationships hide this task in their sufferings. Even the love of God brings us to this work. A moving and helpful book."
—Ann Belford Ulanov, Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychiatry and Religion, Union Theological Seminary "Haule has the clear eye of an analyst, the spirit of a theologian, and the heart of a troubadour. His lyrical prose invites the reader into the depths and breadth of romantic love by exploring its rich and varied imagery in literature and music. . . .There are some little surprise jewels tucked in and under the main theme, such as some fresh definitions of classical Jungian concepts."
—Elizabeth S. Strahan, Past President of the C. G. Jung Institute in Los Angeles About the Author: John Ryan Haule holds a doctorate in religious studies from Temple University. He is a Jungian analyst trained in Zurich and is a faculty member of the C.G. Jung Institute-Boston.
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