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Yes, another Westerner-tromping-about-in-Tunisia post. Actually, two of them. But first...
Having a Jungian analyst friend can be daunting, useful; it can also lead to heated discussion. I took an afternoon seminar on Jung with this person; I'd not seen her in action with fellow Jungians & wow. I knew artists & writers can be competitive &, yes even, cruel. All that soothing talk of mandalas went right out the window after about 30 minutes, first session. Things settled down somewhat after I interjected a 'there is a first-among-equals-here' comment. (It was a paid-for thingy after all...some deference should be paid...call me old-fashioned.)
It reminded me of the time three German graduate students took me to Freiburg with them to hear a lecture by a famous philosopher. (I'd like to say it was Karl Jaspers but since he died in 1969, it would have been quite something to hear him lecture in the 1970s. Perhaps a student of his, memory fails me here.) I don't speak German, though I got along with minor shopping, errands, & so on. A philosophy lecture, non. That's OK, it was fun to go, probably as their mascot. (One was a painter & I posed for his classes, maybe that was it. However, to be clear, I was clothed on the train & at the lecture.)
While having some post-lecture beers, a heated default-to-German discussion erupted. I asked lamely for English or French, but things were already out of control. Some Swedish guy chimed in, I don't know if to help or to argue, completely unclear. Then, one threw his beer into the other guy's face. (I ducked.) Great outrage on everyone's part. On the train home, I joked that it was not only embarrassing to watch two grown men act so absurdly, but I'd (secretly ) looked forward to one (just one) cinematic drink-toss into an as-yet-to-be-determined man's face. Someday. When I was young enough to get away with it & he really deserved it. Now, well.... This got the laugh I'd hoped for & while simmering continued now & again, beers remained in glasses.
Back to the free-for-all at the Jung seminar. I didn't disagree with anyone except someone rhapsodizing about Jung's writing about Tunisia in Memories, Dreams, Reflections. His analysis of Tunisia & the people was close to plain dumb. Even though he qualifies it with "...as a European...", he still makes pronouncements that were cringe-inducing when I was 18 & worse, at, uh, my age now. Talk about colonial-infected interpretations...oh my. So that was my little contribution/warning to the group seminar. Then I sat back for 7 or 8 more Wednesday afternoons & watched the show. Relieved that I had nothing to prove or refute, I took a great deal of pleasure from the discussions. The best thing, though, was watching my friend. interact with the others. She'd become very tentative & insecure in other parts of her life over the years. Here, she was "back." It was wonderful to see & hear her express herself so clearly & at times forcefully (not rudely). No beer was thrown. (Rats!)
Two Paul Klee images. He travelled to Tunisia with August Macke & others in 1914. & it changed his painting. (He was also interested in dreams & analysis.) With Europe about to explode, it must have been a relief to be hit with the sun & light of North Africa rather than bullets. A brief respite, then WWI, another restless simmering respite, & then WWII. This time, even worse. This was ever-present in Strasbourg, every time a WWI or WWII anniversary approached; there are so many in Alsace.
Have a great Sunday or Monday, depending on where you are. xo
[Klee's Tunisian Gardens from Paris WebMuseum; le ville, Kairouan via Tunisiaonlinenews/com/2009/03/maghreb-mouled-conference-opens-in-kairouan/. The WebMuseum is in right sidebar as clickable icon, as well.] Hazel, author of The Clever Pup has an excellent January 2009 post on Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) group in Munich, here.