The Labyrinth and the Minotaur of the Mind

The Labyrinth and Minotaur of the Mind

     Throughout all of mythology, there is a message or lesson to be learned from every imaginable story; one such myth pertaining to an extreme self-conquering lesson is that of the myth of the labyrinth. As Don Williams, Jr. has said, “The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”  The idea of the labyrinth pertains to multiple ideas or settings; In Greek mythology it is the setting of Theseus’ journey to slay the Minotaur, Nicholas Urfe’s labyrinth within The Magus is a realm in which he must conquer himself and unveil his mask of uncertainty, but for all it is a maze created through the minds restrictions offering a journey that must be accepted in order to defeat their demons and overcome the fear of the unknown. 

     After the death of King Minos’ son Androgeus at the hands of the Pallantides in Athens, Minos demanded that King Aegeus of Athens hand over his son’s assassins, but not knowing who they were the town is quickly handed over and an order is given in which every Great Year, the seven most courageous youths and the seven most beautiful maidens were to be sent to Crete as a sacrifice to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull that lived in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus.  Theseus, feeling enraged against the ruling of the sacrifice of these unfortunate victims, volunteers to take the place of one of the youths so that he may travel to Crete and slay the Minotaur;  When he returns he shall switch his sails from black to white as long as he is successful. On his arrival to Crete, King Minos’ daughter Ariadne falls deeply in love with Theseus and offers to help by giving him a ball of thread so that he may complete his objective and exit the Labyrinth without getting lost; if successful, he promises to take Ariadne back to Athens and marry her.  Once inside, Theseus follows Daedalus’ instructions given to Ariadne which is to go forward, always down and never left or right.  He then arrives at the heart of the Labyrinth waking the sleeping beast and after a tremendous struggle, he successfully slays the Minotaur.   After decapitating the monster, he uses the string to escape the Labyrinth along with the young Athenians, as well as Ariadne and her sister Phaedra, but while leaving early the next morning Theseus realizes he has forgotten Ariadne on the beach on becomes extremely stricken with distress.  “Returning from Crete, Theseus forgets to lower the black sails, and Aegeus kills himself by leaping from the Acropolis.  It’s the last footnote to the displacement of the sacrifice,” (Calasso 21,22).  Throughout the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, there are several lessons to be learned.  The involvement of Ariadne was extremely important in that Theseus would not have made his way out of the Labyrinth without her which shows that if one cannot do something on their own it is never a bad thing to ask for help.  Daedalus’ instructions offer a deeper meaning of always keeping ones eye on the prize; continue down the path of the journey and avoid any unnecessary distractions which may lead them astray. One final message to be considered is portrayed through the death of Theseus’ father on his return from Crete sailing with the wrong color sails;  even though one may be successful on their journey, they must not become forgetful or so full of their self because it will come back to harm them in the end.  For Theseus, the Labyrinth offered a journey which provided him with many lessons to be learned, a journey which is equally significant to Nicholas Urfe.

     Introduced at the beginning of The Magus is a lonely and indecisive character by the name of Nicholas Urfe who is marked with several personal troubles while living in London.  After relations with his girlfriend become increasingly serious, he decides to abandon her in by accepting a post-teaching job on the Greek island of Phraxos only to become even more bored, depressed and disillusioned.  Struggling with loneliness and suicidal thoughts, he is eventually drawn to the mysterious Maurice Conchis who in return offers his paradoxical views on life and presents Nicholas with multiple psychological games, slowly pulling him into his ‘godgame’, a labyrinth in which Nicholas must journey to the center of his psyche and defeat his own Minotaur.   “The smallest hope, a bare continuing to exist, is enough for the anti-hero’s future; leave him, says our age, leave him where mankind is in its history, at a crossroads, in a dilemma, with all to lose and only more of the same to win; let him survive, but give him no direction, no reward; because we too are waiting, in our solitary rooms where the telephone never rings, waiting for this girl, this truth, this crystal of humanity, this reality lost though imagination, to return; and to say she return is a lie” (Fowles 645). The representation of Nicholas’ Labyrinth and Minotaur are different from that of Theseus’ in that they are portrayed as a psychological demon that he must journey through in order to overcome.  To truly understand the meaning of this, one must break down what these obstacles really are.  The labyrinth is a maze created through the mind’s restrictions, representing confusion, feeling of being lost, indecision and fear itself.  In a maze, there are no sign posts so one does not know which direction to go, relating to the inability of knowing the uncertainty of the future.  Rather than following the current path, one must lead with their inner sensation that is urging for change to better itself and proceed through a difficult journey of the unknown for the result of the soul’s perfection, supreme satisfaction. The Labyrinth is essentially a part of life, requiring one to become unafraid to make their journey in order to conquer their fears.  The Minotaur represents the beast within, the side that is uncertain, fearful, that which destroys hopes and dreams.  It is the ultimate obstacle that must be confronted, the obstructer of the minds full potential.  This could be represented through all of society, by those who are depressed, never see a way out, feel despair for their lives and depression, even those fearful for what the future has to offer.  Nicholas was successful in his journey through his realm, losing his mentality of being fearful and indecisive and gaining an eye-opening sensation of self-confidence, as well as the ability to make his own decisions for what is best for him. 
     The idea of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur is the ultimate test for ones inner strength and personal will-power; it provides the mind with an extremely difficult journey that when conquered, offers a reawakening of the self.  One final lesson is provided by Fowles on page 645, “But the maze has no centre.  An ending is no more than a point in sequence, a snip of the cutting shears.” Life is made up of countless journeys each resulting in a new lesson to be learned, but the most important message to be remembered is that it does not matter where the destination is, but rather the journey in which it took to get there; as soon as one journey is thought to be over, the next is just around the corner.