The Citadel of Enchanting Images: The Last Unfinished Story in Rumi’s Mathnavi

Abstract

The intention of this study is to examine the last tale of Sufi master Jalal e din Rumi in his masterpiece Mathnavi (Rumi, 2003). Sufism is one of the world’s established mystical traditions and the Sufi Order is a school that offers training for initiates. Storytelling is an integral and important tradition within Sufism, fomenting the soul’s growth through knowledge. The medium of storytelling speaks directly to the heart and soul of the listener, penetrating where mere informational and intellectual lectures do not. Storytelling and fairy tales as archetypal dramas depict characters and interactions taking place in the psyche, on an unconscious level. Jung (1969a) saw fairy tales as products of the collective unconscious that provide a compensatory and balancing function in relation to the outward conscious state or attitude of the culture (p. 155). Rumi’s last unfinished story in Mathnavi (Rumi, 2003) is about the journey of the three princes, to the Citadel of Enchanting Images. In this hero’s journey, the princes encounter their own anima, shadows and complexes. While facing trials and tribulations, the princes fall in love with an image of a princess, that is indeed the feminine aspect of themselves. The princes’ task is to find the princess. This story is about the redemption of the anima, renewal, and transformation.