Courts of Longing: the Archetypal Gold in ACOTAR

"Be glad of your human heart....Pity those who don't feel anything at all.”

What if the meteoric rise of the romantasy genre isn’t about fae courts and dragon riders—but about our deepest and most human longings?

Romantasy has taken the publishing world by storm. While some dismiss these stories as escapist fantasy, we believe their deeper power lies in how they illuminate the human heart.

In this series on the alchemy of romantasy, we explore the mythic and psychological currents running through books like A Court of Thorns and Roses and Fourth Wing. Through the lenses of Jung and the Hero’s (and Heroine's) Journey, we examine the desire to individuate, to be truly seen, to claim inner sovereignty, to find belonging, security, and freedom—and to join with a soulmate who honors the self we are becoming.

Join us as we ask why these stories resonate so profoundly right now, and what they reveal about who we are.

References:

Books & Series

• A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas

• Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros

Psychology & Myth

• Enneagram 4 type

• Jung & the collective unconscious

• The Hero’s Journey – Joseph Campbell

Pop Culture

• Moana

• Frozen

• Monica Lewinsky’s podcast 

Related Gathering Gold Episodes

• Escape Hatch Fantasies

• What Could Have Been

• You Do Not Have to Be Good

• Bonus: Books that Changed Us

Join us on Patreon for bonus content and virtual gatherings: patreon.com/gatheringgold

Some of our recent bonus episodes include:

What Sheryl Forgot and Victoria's Experiment | The Slipstream of Time | Give and Receiving - Shudder - Feedback | The Problem with Pedestals | Are Intrusive Thoughts like Stray Cats?