A Comparative Study of the Concept of Individuated Man in Masnavi's “Hosh-Raba Fortress” and Shakespeare's King Lear

From Jung's point of view, the process of individuation is a kind of maturation and psychological development during which the center of personality shifts from "I" to the "Self". Literature has a long-standing connection with the human psyche, and similar to dreams and myths, poetry and art are expressions of innermost human desires and aspirations. As a mystic thinker, with the purpose for human unity, Molavi tries to offers a refined model for an individuated person in the story of “Hosh-Roba Fortress”. In King Lear, Shakespeare too, portrays a man in a journey of inner progress. It can be said that both Molavi and Shakespeare portray the circular movement of self-discovery in the form of beautiful human pictures in these two works. In the present essay, an attempt is made to do a comparative analysis of the process of individuation in the story of "Hosh-Roba Fortress" and King Lear. The findings show that the journey of each one of the heroes is a symbolic representation of their psychological search for individuality during which the younger prince and King Lear go through a difficult path in their journey from the conscious to the unconscious, experience an encounter with the unconscious forces, reach the final integration with the anima archetype and establish a connection with the hero's’ consciousness in a way that, with the guidance of the wise old man, they put behind the inner shadows and outer personas and finally find their selves and, according to Rumi, “They are born again”.