Fatherson

Using a varied palate of examples from the literature of both Western and non-Western cultures, Collins illustrates the Fatherson archetype from angles both personal and professional. He writes, "In the modern postindustrial West, discord and neglect seem increasingly to dominate the father-son relationship, to the point that for many men the father-son bond has been disrupted, or was never adequately formed in the first place. As the status and role of the Father has been diminished, sons have run wild and free in his absence. The weakened father is not limited to the mass media; he can be found in therapists' offices or, more often, licking his wounds in bars and in the audiences of athletic events. Weak fathers often compensate with brutality, but whether they are outwardly weak or brutal, sons suffer." "One of the most interesting problems of psychology involves the relation of father and son. Alfred Collins's recognition that this ambivalent field of struggle and support is an archetype in its own right enables him to cast new light upon the feminine soul that can emerge from this anguished reciprocity.