"Symbologist" Robert Langdon inspired by...

... (surprise!) Joseph Campbell. The Times reports:

It was in Angels & Demons, his second novel, that Brown introduced the character Robert Langdon, named after the artist/philosopher John Langdon, a friend of Brown's father, and inspired by the religious historian Joseph Campbell, whom Brown saw interviewed on a television programme.

"I recall being impressed by Campbell's open-minded and unthreatening delivery, especially when he spoke about controversial topics like myths and untruths in religion," Brown wrote. "I recall thinking that I wanted my character Robert Langdon to have this same open-minded tone."

Yes, Langdon is the embodiment of open-mindedness, continually lecturing poor Sophie about how stupid, evil, and bloody is Catholicism, while showing himself to be an ignorant, arrogant pontificating professor. The resemblance to Campell is indeed striking. For more about Campbell and his dislike for Christianity, go here. Finally, if Dan Brown is a "commited Christian," as he apparently claims, why would he base his fictional hero on Campbell? For more about Brown, Langdon, and their negative views of Christianity, see some comments I made back in August 2004.

Comments

[Cristina A. Montes]

On a lighter note: Last night, we watched our VCD of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" to unwind. Similar themes and details between that movie and TDVC were striking: the search for the Holy Grail, an academician hero who...um...resembles Harrison Ford, a lady friend of the academician hero, a Grail expert, a race to get the Grail ahead of the bad guys, puzzles to decipher along the way, a secret society that has been guarding the secret of the Grail for centuries. I get the impression that Dan Brown either wrote TDVC while having an "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" hangover or deliberately wrote a serious, perverse version of the lighthearted adventure.

Also striking: for all its slapstick humor, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" treated the theme of the Holy Grail with a semblance of reverence.

[Mark Brumley]

Philosopher Mortimer Adler had some choice comments regarding Joseph Campbell that can be found here:

http://radicalacademy.com/adlercampbell.htm

[CH]

Campbell's work, if not his personality and manner, supposedly inspired George Lucas as he was working on the original Star Wars trilogy. I don't know what deep insights can be drawn from that fact, but I think it is at least humorous that we have Campbell both to thank for Lucas' original film and to blame for the "open-minded" pomposity of Brown's Langdon.

[Ed Peters]

CM: you bet, like when Connery slaps Ford's face "that's for blasphemy." Luv it.

[Sandra Miesel]

And Campbell's professional work has not stood the test of time. Forty years ago, critics (including me) liked to analyze fiction in terms of THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES but it's passe as a critical tool because it ultimately has little to say. Just like someone else we know...