The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life by James Hillman

The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life Reviews

• 
  Bionic Jean

  Interesting psychologist's view of "oldness" and wisdom, incorporating ideas from anthropology and sociology.
  
  The author examines the common physical and mental factors of ageing, arguing that this is not so much a lessening of abilities as a new state of being or archetype in which we attain our true identity and character.
  
  James Hillman postulates that it is a recent phenomenon to disregard people who are not young-acting and young-looking. Earlier societies revered the idea of "ancestors". The older a person became, the closer they were towards being an ancestor - a model for the young, and the bearer of a society's cultural memory and traditions.
  
  Since we all (hope to) grow older, this is a book with a message.
• 
  Francisco

  I wrote this essay after reading Hillman's book. The tone of the book is more scholarly, but the essay will give you a good idea of Hillman's orientation in this book on the inescapable fact of growing old.
  
  Letting Go
  
  On this late autumn day, the elms and oaks around my house seem determined to let go of all the leaves that have died on their limbs. Everywhere I look there is a letting go. The sky has let go of blue and allowed itself to be covered with a thick mantle of gray.
  
  I am reminded of the letting go that I need to do. I am sixty-six (not that old as actuarial tables go) but like you and everyone and everything else that has been born, I am on my way to that final, total, letting go and I believe that it is time to shed what is no longer needed in this final stage of the journey.
  
  It’s not a long list, the things I need to detach from. They are internal things mostly, like the ambition for worldly recognition that served me so well when I was young and yearned to be somebody. Now ambition and the search for glory and rewards are a heavy burden and I would like, if at all possible, to travel light.
  
  Whenever I try to explain to people that in this phase of my life, I wish to let go of no-longer-needed wants, they get worried that I may be in the grips of depression. Sometimes, I see disappointment in their eyes. I am bailing out on the American dream to strive, always to strive for more, to never quit. I am giving up on living life to the fullest. Why, there are people older than me running marathons, running billion-dollar enterprises, running for president of the United States. A few of my more literary friends have even taken to quoting the famous lines from Thomas Dylan’s poem:
  
  Do not go gentle into that good night,
  Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
  
  I try to explain that, actually, raving and raging are at the top of the list of what needs to go. And if there is any burning inside of me, it will be more like the gentle flame of a candle that stays lit in the windstorm. But isn’t rage needed now more than ever? Isn’t giving up on rage the equivalent of not caring, of standing silent in the face of suffering and injustice? Am I being irresponsible? I respond that anger is not the strongest force, the fiercest weapon, but my words are taken as defeat.
  
  I want to keep on working, fighting if you will, by being as useful to others as I can. What I am letting go of is the old motivation and the old methods of work. I let go of working for the fruits of my labor and focus on the sincerity of the effort. If I work with honesty and truth the outcome will not matter. I embrace work as a gift. The energy and ability to work, the talent, the creativity behind it, all is a gift and my only hope is to pass the gift successfully to others. The method too will change from hurried and anxious productivity to work done with the urgency and seriousness of an inner calling, a sacred obligation. Waiting with receptive attention, listening, silence, the fecundity of leisure – all these will be part of the work. The value and priority of different daily tasks will change. What if everything I do each day is equally important? What if playing with my grandchildren is as significant as writing a story? What if I write a story with the same love with which I hold my grandchild? And what if love becomes the burning purpose of my work?
  
  So many world traditions recognize old age as a special time. A spiritual time when a person can let go of the business of making a living and spend time looking care-fully at creation or searching for the presence of a creator, or developing virtues like humility, patience, kindness. Here in America that kind of letting go seems like giving up or, worse, cowardice. But letting go is an act of courage. It is choosing to finally, finally, follow the beat of your own drum. It means, if it comes to that, living on the margins of what is approvable by the world you live in. Courage could mean a solitude that is entered bravely, but not without fear. I am letting go of the images of myself that have served me well since I was a child. Who am I if not the talented boy who could read hardcover books in first grade? Or the dutiful lawyer or the Latino writer? Who am I, really, without these comfortable images?
  
  These old, old, trees let go of their leaves effortlessly. For them, the process of letting go each year is part of their becoming and their becoming happens just as it is meant to happen. It is, unfortunately more complicated for me. The acorn “knows” it will become an oak tree. My own becoming takes some figuring out. Not just who I am but who I am supposed to be. Who is the person I am finally to become? For I feel the presence of becoming in my old heart and it is not the same restless energy of forty years ago. To find out where this becoming is taking me, I must let go of all that is not true, of all that belongs to others, of all those cherished fantasies. No one said it wasn’t going to hurt.
  And yet, this letting go is not without a quiet joy, like the joy of the trees swaying in the wind, or the joy of the spiraling, falling leaf. I don’t know how to describe this joy. It is a paradox. It is joy filled with a light that is both dying and living.
  
  I let go of trying to understand it.
• 
  Agnes

  Letto tutto Hillman, consumato un set di matite per sottolineare….
• 
  Algirdas Brukštus

  Senėjimo tikslas, tai ne vargana egzistencija laukiant mirties, o charakterio, kaip unikalių bruožų rinkinio, galutinis šlifavimas. Charakteris, tai vaizdinys, kuris liks čia po mirties pasiliekančiųjų atsiminimuose, vizijose, sapnuose. Senatvė, kaip gyvenimo tarpsnis, turi savo ypatingą reikšme ir nereikia nei jos nuvertinti, nei nuo jos bėgti.
• 
  Sara

  Hillman's meditation on old age. Another amazing read where I want to keep making and highlighting brilliance on almost every page. Amazing man. Can't believe I only came to him now. This has radically changed my views on some of the phenomena common in older people I care for - from sleep disturbances to the "dirty old goat" to the reasons and propensities for retelling stories - and should be required reading for anyone in geriatrics. Too bad medical schools have totally overlooked Hillman.
  
  Another massive problem he points out is that geriatrics and gerontology are being studied by mostly new, young researchers, with the goal of making the elderly stay young, or young-like, ("reversing or stalling the aging process" as it is often put) rather than truly studying and appreciating "the old." There's a great line in there somewhere about how no one wants said at their funeral that they handled the end of their life with good self-esteem.
  
  The first thesis here is that the association of aging and being old with death is a modern, somewhat flawed idea. In previous times, death was associated with the young - childbirth, accidents, childhood disease. Someone who made it past all that was likely to live quite long (which is still kind of true, just older - 85 year olds are likely to become 90 year olds, 90 year olds, 95 year olds...etc). Aging and death are two totally different things. There are some lovely lines about "old things" and why they are so important and beloved.
  
  "There are old texts, like those of Homer and Ovid, Heraclitus and Sophocles, that require new translations every generation: the translations age, but never the text."
  
  "What about the old things you live with? Are they aging, dying? The old chair the cat prefers; the old tumbler your hand enjoys holding for your evening whisky. "I love this knife; I couldn't do without it." We say "love" more often about things - tools, shoes, hats - than about persons. Old is one of the deepest sources of pleasure humans know. Part of the misery of disasters like floods and fires is the irrevocable loss of the old, just as one of the causes of suburban subdivision depression - and aging and death - is the similar loss of the old, exchanged for a brand-new house and yard. Old things afford a supporting vitality; without them we find it harder to be alive....We need the old pleasure-giving things, which reciprocate our love with their handiness and undemanding compatibility."
  
  "We can reconceive the whole business of character by focusing less on children and what they should know than on old age and what we do know. I am compelled and constrained by what I do not control. Character forces me to encounter each event in my particular style. It forces me to differ. I walk through life oddly. No one else walks as I do, and this is my courage, my dignity, my integrity, my morality, and my ruin."
• 
  Gwen Walton

  James Hillman who died in 2011 at the age of 86, was a leading interpreter and exponent of Jungian psychology, who published more than 20 books. I still have to read many of them, but I recently discovered "The Force of Character: and the Lasting Life". This is an excellent study of the psychology of life's later years and the aging process, linking the mental, spiritual and the physical. To Hillman old age was a time when each person's innate character could reach its full potential. He warns against accepting the stereotypes of old age so prevalent in modern society, and encourages older people to maintain a strong personal identity as long as they live.
  
  While "The Force of Character" also deals with the subject of illness and death it is not depressing, and should not contravene any religious beliefs the reader might hold.
  
  As an octogenerian I found the book both stimulating and comforting. Perhaps not a great read for the young, but for us oldies definitely worth finding, especially the now out of print Large Print edition (1999).
  
• 
  Bob Garrison

  A challenging read in the context of deep dives into the physiology and psychology of aging. The archetypal theme, and the ultimate “old age prize” of this book is the persistence of one’s image and character. The process of aging allows the polishing of character through a number of processes, and the giving-up of priorities that no longer have a place. I had to re-read words, sentences and entire passages to glean the meaning. Part metaphysical; referencing Jung, Nitschke et al and occasionally mystical in its references to Greek philosophy, it can be challenging. That said, there are many pearls of wisdom (wisdom, in old age, being one of the pearls) that help to shape a positive view of life’s journey in our elder years.
• 
  Mark McTague

  Though anyone with curiosity and a willingness to look at the world with an open mind, Hillman's book seems intended for people on the other side of 50. Among the ideas that he writes about is the notion that aging is somehow synonymous with decline, decay, and loss. He attempts, largely successfully in my view, to show the sharp limits of that idea, the way it ignores, when it is not simply misrepresenting, the changes that come with age. This is a facile simile, which obscures many insights which he makes, but aging for the individual, if we are to understand it and its meaning, its value, partakes of the meaning of the word in a collocations such as "aged whiskey." The effect of time, and all the changes that come with it, is not to detract, to lessen, but to enrich, to deepen, to continue to develop what is inherent yet which cannot be seen without the aging that time brings.
  
  I can't be more precise than that not only due to my own limitations (fatigue, other demands on my time and attention) but also, I must admit, to the language of the author. Hillman does have numerous marvelous insights, but his prose often floated off the page for me. True, he's speaking of things that are hard to be precise about - character, fate, courage, that which lasts - yet I often had to re-read sections to get a clearer sense of his meaning only to have it slip back out of focus several pages later. Its partly the same problem for me of most texts on philosophy - the abstraction of the language. Yet I would still recommend this book to anyone who wonders what value the final 1-2 decades of their life may have. You will find not only a sympathetic mind in this text, but wise counsel as well.
• 
  Valeria Nicoletti

  Visionario, magnifico, superbo. Voglio leggere tutti i suoi libri.
• 
  Kirsten Mortensen

  As I noted in my review of Soul's Code, I'm working my way through all (or at least "a lot of") Hillman's works.
  
  I liked this one more than Soul's Code, but less than a couple other Hillman books that I have read & truly treasure (his book on dreams, "
  The Dream and the Underworld") and the collection
  Animal Presences: Uniform Edition of the Writings of James Hillman).
  
  "The Force of Character" does have one strong element in its favor: Hillman's implied suggestion that we re-conceptualize "old age."(I say "implied" because sometimes his writing tends to be a bit abstruse. He dearly loves to talk around things. Not entirely surprising for a Jungian psychologist...)
  
  Perhaps some of the things associated with old age that we interpret and fear as "degenerative" -- for example the way the aging brain may lose some of its sharpness wrt short term memory, while retaining "old" memories with perfect clarity -- could be re-conceptualized as a net positive.
  
  Perhaps old age" should be thought of as the period in our development that helps us prepare for death. Perhaps one of the most important ways we prepare for death is to reflect on our lives and our life lessons. Perhaps the "infirmities" and behavioral quirks that tend to arise during old age are nudging us to do exactly that.
  
  It's pretty different from the way we conceive of "old age" in the West today -- "youth" as the standard, and old age as in every respect being "lesser" -- weaker, slower, stupider, duller, etc. -- which in turn spurs us to try to resist the symptoms of old age in a way that very often turns grotesque ...
• 
  Ted Morgan

  I read this when I was on the wane from reading this sort of book but I read it with great pleasure, respect, and gratitude. I continue to think of the author as wise and most helpful. When I encountered the work, I was my late 50s and just realizing I was growing old but not fully feeling aged. "Aging is not accident," James Hillman writes. Human beings live longer than most animals though certainly not all and aging has a purpose, say Hillman. Aging speaks with an intelligence. He builds from this introduction with scholarship, his background and leadership in Jungian Analysis, experience of Zen, and really just some old fashioned wisdom.
  
  I was still somewhat attune to Jung when I first read the book. I no longer am but I do appreciate Hillman's expertise and leadership in that school of analysis. I am still attune to Zen. I also am less optimistic about aging though I do accept it can be an interval of learning what he are maybe intended to experience if we are lucky.
  
  This runs counter to some works on aging I currently read but this is a counterbalance, perhaps, to what I currently read. At moments when my mind seems still to work I feel a bond with Hillman. When I am in pain or severe decline, I am feel less a bond. Anyway, this work deserves as does the vast body of Hillman's other work is good reading and nourishing.
• 
  Eric Ryniker

  I enjoyed this more than it's more widely read predecessor, The Soul's Code. It was the much needed second conversation I wanted after completing Soul's Code. The book itself is comprised of many small chapters that are almost in a random or non-order, but the further one ventures into the text the more apparent the purpose of his epistrophe becomes: our character is at stake.
• 
  Patty

  Premetto che non mi aspettavo che parlasse di vecchiaia, visto il titolo. Da un lato, mi ha resa più felice di invecchiare; dall’altra ho fatto fatica a leggerlo, perché l’ho comprato convinta che parlasse del carattere.
• 
  Nancy

  A Jungian take on death. Bradbury cites him in her book "The Bright Side'. Some of his insights on death and dying made me chuckle.
• 
  Tatiana Bargigia

  Splendido il punto di vista di Hillman sull’archetipo della vecchiaia e sul carattere. Consiglio a tutt* di leggerlo.
• 
  Alyson Hinkie

  Brilliant. I think everyone should read this In their 40’s and probably again at 65.
• 
  SeaShore

  
  The mind likes ideas. It asks for fresh ones, even half baked ones. It busies itself cogitating. The mind is naturally curious, inventive, transgressive. Older persons are advised to keep mentally active so as to delay decline of brain function. Use it or lose it.
  
  In 1998 when this book was published, Hillman was contemplating the idea of older age and how humans are evolving so that a perception of older age, is changing
  
  T. S. Eliot: Old men ought to be explorers
  
  Hillman advises us to become involved in the events of aging. It takes courage and curiosity.
  
  Death is beyond thought and we should decouple death from aging and restore the link between older age and the uniqueness if character.
  
  I --Lasting means to endure.
  Read
  D H Lawrence's
  A Lesson on a Tortoise Tortoise Family Connections
  To be a tortoise!
  Think of it, in a garden of inert clods
  A brisk, brindled little tortoise, all to himself—
  Croesus!
  
  In a garden of pebbles and insects
  To roam, and feel the slow heart beat
  Tortoise-wise, the first bell sounding
  From the warm blood, in the dark-creation
  morning.
  
  Moving, and being himself,
  Slow, and unquestioned,
  And inordinately there, O stoic!
  Wandering in the slow triumph of his own
  existence,
  Ringing the soundless bell of his presence in
  chaos,
  And biting the frail grass arrogantly,
  Decidedly arrogantly. ...
  
  Aristotle says "The soul is the form of the body -it is the body's final aim or purpose
  The soul forms the body. -
  Although the interests of body and soul are the same, the beauty of the soul is harder to see than the beauty of the body....
  
  Plato, Aristotle, Feynman -their interpretations are discussed.
  
  Basically, People with a force of character have a sense of purpose; a sense of being; their minds burn bright and rise above the storm while confidently, they press forward. They seem to know the secret to personal success "This buried secret also indirectly draws in the individual regard and respect of others
  
  People with a force of character consciously think before they act, and when the decision is made to act, they always take full ownership of their actions, even if the decisions turn out awry or are negative.
• 
  Michael

  This was recommended to me as a means to "aid my lifelong commitment" to Working on myself. It also seemed appropriate at a point in my life where I am sorting out the death of one of my parents, a kind of turning point in which you can no longer think of yourself as young and immortal. Hillman argues that as a society we have become so focused on Youth that we fail to appreciate the value of becoming an Elder. He suggests that what makes us truly unique as we go through life is our "character," which comes through most forcefully as we leave behind the limitations of inexperience and truly become ourselves in old age. I would call this a fascinatingly subversive conservative concept, but not in the simplistic political sense of "conservative." Of course, conservatives of that breed have long fallen back on the argument that various kinds of hardship (which they generally do not suffer) build "character," but Hillman isn't glorifying unfairness in this way. Rather, he is conservative in the sense of arguing that what you already are is nothing to be ashamed of, is in fact the true "you," and that embracing it in the face of criticism is the highest form of self-change. On another level, however, he argues that the fear of growing old is based in an over-reaction to natural change - your role is different, your perceptions are different, your body is different than it used to be and that's part of character too. The book is written in a contemplative, poetic style, at times whimsical, at times deeply spiritual. I read it slowly and deliberately, as perhaps an older person would, and I think I got more out of it that way.
• 
  Karolis

  the author tries hard to philosophize and reason about embracing the old age and urges to see it as a purposeful stage in one's life, to look beyond the surface.
  he's against many ideas i believe in, such as my belief in our ability to improve our selves through technology and biosciences, and basically argues that "look it's a pie in the sky and in the meantime we have so much culture, so much character that is rotting" and then proceeds to give a vague recipe on how this culture and character could be shared with the world, especially to influence the young. it's a book that tries to take what we consider a sad topic and turn it on it's head, by unconventional interpretation, and effort to see a deeper meaning in the struggle of old age, to find a purpose that is greater. it's a comforting read for an older person or anyone who knows/lives with aging folk (which is about every one of us).
• 
  Steve Greenleaf

  I’ve recently sang the praises of
  James Hillman in my review of
  Kinds of Power: A Guide to Its Intelligent Uses, so I won’t repeat that here. This book deals another big topic: aging. Like power, we sometimes wish it would go away and we try to ignore it. But remember: only the lucky get to age.
  
  Hillman looks at aging through his unique lens, paying heed to the literal but focusing upon the figurative—the images of aging. And as he often does, he provides us with a fresh perspective on this age-old topic. In the end, it may not make you happy about aging, but you’ll realize that it has its benefits, prerogatives, and even some blessings.
  
  Full consideration here @ my blog
  www.sngthoughts.blogspot.com
• 
  Geraldine

  As humans, we put off thinking about life as an older person. Read this book and you will gain a new perspective about that cranky old grandfather or the old neighbor who tells you that you haven't a clue how to plant your grass.
  
  It is the force of character that takes us over as we age. Depending on how you look at it, that may be good or bad, but it is who we are. Fallen away are the goals and desires of youth, the striving at middle age, but it is character--what is really inside of us that comes out as we grow older.
  
  An amazing book. It helps me understand my 94-year-old mother better. I am NOT going to change her and thus, my children are not going to change me.
  
  In other words, you are who you are.
• 
  Victoria Weinstein

  Much less carefully written than The Soul's Code (this, in fact, feels like a kind of hastily crafted sequel), Hillman's offers a Jungian take on the challenges of aging. He's riffing here, having fun and taking the reader on a kind of stream-of-consciousness argument. Not the most disciplined approach but still valuable.
• 
  Eric

  made it back through the prefaces and to page 14 where the author has introduced the idea that character is a "force" that is active ... very good foundation laid to enjoy the book :)
  
  Once the time and mind is quieted, this book is a good read from any point and easily done all the way through if that is your preferred way.
  
  Nice to assess the paradigms associated with life ... at any age.