The Wagner Complex

Dr. Tom Artin, Author The Wagner Complex

The meaning of The Ring presented something of a riddle to Wagner himself.  The frame of reference through which I propose to unravel its secrets is the 19th century European Zeitgeist that engendered the evolving discovery of the unconscious, and formed the psychological and social matrix in which Wagner’s as well as Freud’s work is rooted.  The Freudian concepts of the Oedipus complex and the Family Romance, together with his structural metapsychology shed particular light on the drama of The Ring.  Though it seems a commonplace that Wagner’s operas offer fertile ground for psychoanalytic interpretation, remarkably little along these lines has actually been done.  The Wagner Complex aspires to fill this conspicuous void in the vast literature on Wagner and his works.

Our speaker Tom Artin received his Bachelors Degree in English and PhD with a concentration in English, French and German medieval literature, both from Princeton University.  Dr. Artin has taught at Drexel University, The Hun School, Swarthmore College, University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Rockland Community College. Artin has authored four books: The Allegory of Adventure (Bucknell), Earthtalk, Independent Voices and the Environment (Grossman Publishers), Arthurian Literature and Christianity (Garland Press) and The Wagner Complex: Genesis and Meaning of The Ring (Free Scholar Press) and has translated a number of books from German and Danish into English.

Here is a link to the website for Tom Artin’s Book

www.wagnercomplex.com