Review of A History of the Heart by O.M. Høystad
An Exploration Into the Most Central Symbol of Human Culture
Throughout history, the heart has meant different things to different peoples. In English speaking cultures today, to say someone has ‘a heart of stone’ is insulting, yet to the Ancient Egyptians it was the highest compliment, suggesting a calm rational person. In contrast, the heart meant less to the Babylonians, who favoured the liver. Today, the brain is a source of increasing fascination. This book explores the development of the Western consciousness through its heart imagery.
The Influence of Homer on Western Consciousness
Høystad’s analysis of the heart in Homer is influenced by Julian Jaynes' theory of the bicameral mind, which controversially asserts that humans did not develop consciousness until the time of The Iliad, which was probably written around the latter part of the eighth century BC.
The actions of ancient peoples were directed by auditory hallucinations rather than personal choices. There are no words pertaining to personal identity in Homer; no equivalent of ‘individual’ or ‘self.’ Høystad argues that when Odysseus asks, “Why doth my heart thus hold converse with me?” (Song 11, verse 403) in The Iliad, he creates a new distinction between man and the wider world – Odysseus’ heart, his consciousness, speaks to him. It is the beginning of self-analysis. The heart is thus central to the development of the concept of the individual.
Islamic Influence on Western Consciousness
The heart of the Islamic world is completely conscious. According to the thirteenth century Persian poet Rumi, “I looked into my heart – it was a sea, a space of the worlds, a sea that moves in a thousand ways.” Here it is the heart that thinks and feels, not the brain. The spiritual aspect of love is also emphasised by the poet Ibn Daud in his Book of the Flower, where the lover would rather die than be united with his beloved. The love of God is equated with the love of a woman.
This was hugely influential in Europe where, despite the wars between the Christian and Muslim worlds in the Middle Ages, there was a large amount of contact between writers on the two continents. In Medieval Courtly Romance, love was always just out of reach. The Knight performed various feats of endeavour to win his lady’s heart, but could never marry her because of her higher, noble standing.
This tension generates great eroticism in the stories – something very subversive at a time of great church power, with its very strict sexual morality. Høystad points out that we can still see its influence today in our excessive consumerism, where material satisfaction is always just out of reach and we long for the next purchase.
Love in Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan and Isolde
Not all love was out of reach, however. In Gottfried’s version of Tristan and Isolde, the couple meet in a forest grotto and their erotic play ‘sustains the heart and spirit – it was their best nourishment.’ Sexual love is sacred in this heart image.
In addition to Høystad’s focus on Islamic influence, nature based Pagan faiths could also have played a role. At the Celtic festival of Beltane, couples traditionally practised ‘Handfasting,’ where they agreed to spend a year and a day together. They celebrated by making love in the woods, as Tristan and Isolde do. Although Christian ceremonies would have taken over as official celebrations, such traditions are likely to have played a quiet role in moral values.
Høystad’s work, which also explores areas as diverse as Christianity, Shakespeare, Nietzsche and open heart surgery, is a fascinating look at perhaps the world’s most important symbol. It would be interesting to hear his views on the heart in Eastern and African consciousness.
Ole M Høystad, A History of the Heart (Reaktion Books Ltd 2007)
Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan: With the 'Tristran' of Thomas, ed. A.T. Hatto (Harmondsworth 1960), pp. 262-3.
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