Symbols of Individuation in E. S. Stevens’s The Mountain of God

Abstract

E. S. Stevens’s novel, The Mountain of God, is noteworthy because it records impressions of the Bahá’í community in ‘Akká and Haifa in 1911. This essay uses elements of Jungian literary criticism to point out how the novel’s two main characters are moving through the individuation process which could well lead them to acceptance of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. By employing symbolic language, Stevens demonstrates that these characters are evolving as a result of spiritual influences in the Holy Land. Jungian literary criticism, examining concepts developed by Carl G. Jung, attempts to explain the purpose of symbolic works of art in the psychic life of a society and their psychic significance. Such criticism seeks to add a new dimension to a piece of literature.