W R Heustis

Pathos & Catharsis W R Heustis

Pathos and Catharsis is a contemporary examination of the current state of the collective psyche of a post 9/11world. The play takes place in the Lake Zurich summer home of the Swiss psychoanalyst, C. G. JUNG where his three ghostly manifestations encounter a tourist, named C. J. Anderson who is visiting with the last tour group of the day. Anderson has been sent by his ailing wife to visit the renowned psychoanalyst's retreat and now museum to bring back a handout or token of some kind from the tour. Anderson is prone to be overly curious. He soon wanders away from the tour group when he discovers a door leading up into the stone tower. His curiosity, however, delays him from rejoining the small gathering of tourists. As a result, he is inadvertently locked inside the house. He soon discovers that he has no means of escape and, furthermore, is present when the ghost of Professor Jung suddenly appears (or, as is revealed later, Jung's #2 personality, Philemon). Anderson is startled by this unexpected encounter. Shortly after that, he realizes that the professor is there on his annual return to honor his birthday as well as the house he built with his own hands. The conversation quickly begins to focus on Anderson's personal dilemma along with the present, dire conditions facing humanity as a whole. The Second Act continues with another aspect of the professor's personality (a young woman known as Salome) interacting with Anderson along with Professor Jung who finally appears and resolves some of Anderson's confusion. He, furthermore, helps to clarify and define the course that humanity must follow in order to survive this troubled time.