The Manticore as an Ecological Psyche

This paper examines the mythological figure of the manticore as a symbolic expression of ecological interconnectedness and psychological repression within literary and cultural traditions. Moving beyond conventional ecocritical approaches that focus on explicit representations of nature and environmental degradation, the study argues that hybrid mythic creatures function as powerful metaphors for humanity’s denied relationship with the natural world. Tracing the manticore’s evolution from its origins in Persian mythology through Greek and medieval bestiaries to modern literary reinterpretations, the paper demonstrates how the creature consistently embodies anxieties surrounding blurred boundaries between the human and the nonhuman. Drawing on Jungian psychology, particularly the concept of the shadow, the manticore is interpreted as an “ecological shadow” that represents repressed instincts, denied ecological embeddedness, and cultural fears of wildness. Special attention is given to Robertson Davies’s The Manticore, where the creature functions as a catalyst for psychological individuation and ecological awareness. Through this interdisciplinary analysis, the study positions the manticore as an unconventional yet significant figure within green literature, suggesting that ecological crises are deeply rooted in cultural narratives and psychic denial. By foregrounding symbolic monsters as tools of ecocritical inquiry, the paper calls for a broader understanding of environmental literature—one that integrates myth, psychology, and ecology to address the underlying causes of ecological imbalance.