THE BATTLE FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE MOTHER
There now comes a pause in the production of visions by Miss Miller;
then the activity of the unconscious is resumed very energetically.
A forest with trees and bushes appears.
After the discussions in the preceding chapter, there is need only of a
hint that the symbol of the forest coincides essentially with the
meaning of the holy tree. The holy tree is found generally in a sacred
forest enclosure or in the garden of Paradise. The sacred grove often
takes the place of the taboo tree and assumes all the attributes of the
latter. The erotic symbolism of the garden is generally known. The
forest, like the tree, has mythologically a maternal significance. In
the vision which now follows, the forest furnishes the stage upon which
the dramatic representation of the end of Chiwantopel is played. This
act, therefore, takes place in or near the mother.
First, I will give the beginning of the drama as it is in the original
text, up to the first attempt at sacrifice. At the beginning of the next
chapter the reader will find the continuation, the monologue and the
sacrificial scene. The drama begins as follows:
“The personage Chiwantopel, came from the south, on horseback; around
him a cloak of vivid colors, red, blue and white. An Indian in a
costume of doe skin, covered with beads and ornamented with feathers
advances, squats down and prepares to let fly an arrow at Chiwantopel.
The latter presents his breast in an attitude of defiance, and the
Indian, fascinated by that sight, slinks away and disappears within
the forest.”
The hero, Chiwantopel, appears on horseback. This fact seems of
importance, because as the further course of the drama shows (see