Critical Article Summaries
Article
Hartigan, Rosemary. "Pilgrim." The Antioch
Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
Summary
In Pilgrims’ autobiography, Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, there are several precarious situations which draw Jung’s attention. He continues to take copious notes on what he believes to be on of the more interesting psychological cases. This extraordinary novel was nominated for the Giller prize. One of Canada's most highly acclaimed authors, Timothy Findley, weaves a compelling dialectic of fantasy and historical fact to create just such a confrontation between Dr. Jung and a mysterious gentleman named Pilgrim, who, after numerous attempts at suicide, is brought to the Burgholzi Clinic in Zurich. The time is 1912, World War I is brewing and tension is growing. Pilgrim, a renowned art historian, claims to have lived many lives over the past four thousand years, and his journals contain vivid accounts of relationships with Leonardo DaVinci, Teresa of Avila, and Oscar Wilde.
Article
Elgaard, Elin. "Pilgrim." World Literature Today 74.3 (2000): 595. Literature Resource Center
Summary
What it is to be a Pilgrim goes well beyond the serenely hymnal: a "captive to the human condition," this case history has traveled through centuries and sexes, from the siege of Troy to being with pre-sainted Teresa of Avila, tyrannous Leonardo da Vinci, giant Oscar Wilde "in the moment of his fall," and, latest manifestation, an art historian, with Henry James invoking the literary done. Throughout, this same traveler has courted "eternal rest" in repeated suicide attempts, thwarted perhaps by his own butterfly tattoo. This article tries to explain how Pilgrim has lived through the ages from and analytical point of view. It explains how connect Jung becomes to this case and how it becomes a huge deal to not only him but everyone else in his life because it effects all of them.
Article
Gottlieb, Stacey. "Pilgrim." The Review of Contemporary Fiction 20.3 (2000): 154. Literature Resource Center
Summary
Canadian author Timothy Findley, in his new novel ‘Pilgrim’ has kept with a similar format as all his other novels. The novel takes place in Western European culture. A good job is done in taking a completely fictional character and adding him in to completely real and historically accurate events. Things become quite complicated when the journals of Pilgrim reveal vivid imagination pr exploits of a world class time traveler, along with several other ethical issues.
