Iron John Book Review: How Boys Become Men
THERE’S SOMETHING DANGEROUS IN THE WOODS OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM;
Men are going out and not returning, and no one knows why.
The King decides to send a Hunter, along with his dog, to get some answers, and what follows is a parable that dives deep into the woods… and deeper still into the masculine soul.
Robert Bly’s Iron John: A Book About Men is a poetic exegesis of the famous fairy tale “Iron Hans” by the German folklorists Grimm Brothers. It tells the tale of a boy who grows into manhood and learns valuable lessons about himself and his future with the help of a red-haired wild man named Iron John. Bly tells the tale and then switches to commentating and explaining the many metaphors throughout the story.
THE AUTHOR ATTEMPTS TO RESURRECT THE LOST ART OF BEING A MAN BY GIVING PRACTICAL ADVICE FROM A POETIC STORY.
WHO WAS ROBERT BLY?
For centuries, men have shared myths and used metaphors to portray deep truths about life.
This tradition is found in numerous cultures and religions across the world, and Robert Bly was a master of this kind of mythical interpretation and instruction.
In 1990, Iron John: A Book About Men was published and became an instant classic in the men’s movement. It sold over two million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Iron John kick-started the mythopoetic men’s movement and inspired counseling events and retreats based on lessons learned from myths and stories, encouraging men to return to oral tradition and using parables as a form of teaching.
BLY EXPLORES HOW THIS FABLE CAN BE APPLIED TO MODERN LIFE AND USES THE POWER OF MYTH TO HELP INTERPRET THE CHALLENGES FACING MEN IN SOCIETY.
Even though his commentary was written recently, the original myth was told more than 200 years ago but still remains relevant to modern-day men and their experiences.
Bly believed that males need active guidance into manhood from their elders. He also argued that the modern male is emotionally and spiritually damaged due to a lack of meaningful intergenerational male role models.
Bly’s work has influenced many different fields, including the field of counseling. Douglas Gillette, Robert Moore (See our article on King Warrior Magician Lover) and John Herald Lee all acknowledge the influence of Bly on their work.
Where King, Warrior, Magician, Lover was about a return to the Kingdom as a King, Iron John is about a return to the Woods, and becoming the Wildman.
WE THINK THAT IRON JOHN IS AN ESSENTIAL MYTH, AND WE USE IT TO HELP MEN UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES BETTER, GROW INTO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL, AND UNLEASH THEIR INNER WILD-MAN.
THE STORY OF IRON JOHN
As the Hunter ventures into the woods to investigate, his dog runs ahead of him to a lake. Suddenly, a giant hand reaches up from the water, grabs the dog, and pulls him under.
The Hunter, intrigued, returns to the Kingdom and gathers a group of men to bucket out the water from the lake to rescue the dog and find whatever monster lies beneath the water.
We discover upon his return that the hand that snatched the dog belongs to a massive man, covered in fiery-red hair, who is slumbering at the bottom.
This red-hair is what gives him the name: Iron John.
The Hunter and his men capture the giant and bring him back to the Kingdom, where he is put in a cage in the courtyard.
What follows is a series of tests involving the King’s son (the Prince) and this Wild Man, that represent deep truths about the maturing process of a man.
As Bly summarizes:
“…FINDING THE WILD MAN UNDER THE LAKE WATER, FOLLOWING THE TRACKS OF ONE’S OWN WOUND THROUGH THE FOREST AND FINDING THAT IT RESEMBLES THE TRACKS OF A GOD.”
I’ll explore some of the metaphorical elements and give some interpretation, but I don’t want to spoil too much, so I’ll restrict my explanation to three main events in the story:
- THE DROWNING OF THE WILD MAN
We already covered the discovery of Iron John in the lake in the woods, so I’ll unpack some of its representation here.
The Wild Man, Iron John, is a character that represents the source of male creative energy, which also contains a destructive element as mirrored in all of nature.
Fire burning through forests is a necessary process for new trees to grow, and war must sometimes take place in order to preserve freedom.
The potential danger of this creative energy has driven modern man to fear, and so civilization has buried him, deep beneath the waters of its own traditions.
The Wild Man has been excommunicated from the Kingdom, and sent to lie at the bottom of the lonely lake. He is dormant, beneath the niceties of modern day life, and within the depths of all male subconscious, waiting to be encountered and released.
Whether it’s through organized religion, advanced philosophy, fashion, education, or rules… this burial of the Wild Man has done the world a great disservice.
There will come a time when the power of a dangerous (but good) man is needed to defend the Kingdom from evil forces.
2. THE GOLDEN BALL
When Iron John is captured and brought to the courtyard of the Kingdom, the Prince finds him when his favorite golden ball accidentally rolls into his cage.
The Prince approaches the Wild Man and asks for the ball back, and thus begins a conversation with Iron John.
Every boy loses his “golden ball” at some point in his life, and every boy must have a conversation with the dangerous and awesome presence of masculine energy.
In a perfect world, a strong father or male figure- a father, uncle, or coach- will have intentionally removed the golden ball from the princely boy, but this is not the case with most men.
So the ball will, one way or the other, find its way out of childish hands and into the presence of the unknown.
The ball stands for the innocence and idealism that all youth are born with, and it is also authenticity and freedom. It represents the dreams, aspirations, and passions that seem to be infinite as a child, but at some point, are confronted with the harsh realities of life.
This is an inevitable event that must happen if the Prince is ever to mature.
3. SUMMONING THE WILD MAN
Further along in the story, after several initiations take place in the woods outside the Kingdom, the Prince is told by the Wild Man that he must return home because of his failure to make it through the trials.
Before his departure however, Iron John promises a gift:
“WHENEVER YOU ARE IN TROUBLE, COME TO THE EDGE OF THE WOODS AND SHOUT “IRON JOHN, IRON JOHN!”, AND I WILL COME TO HELP YOU. MY POWER IS GREAT, GREATER THAN YOU BELIEVE…”
This is the stage that all men must aim for — the integration of the ferocity of the Wild Man into the freedom and belief of the boy Prince. The ability to call upon the awesomeness of the Wild Man within and summon him to assist in whatever hard trial may come is a non-negotiable for success in the world outside the woods.
This is not achieved easily, as the Prince encounters other trials like:
The retrieval of the key to the cage, which is kept under the pillow of his mother, the Queen
Facing the wounds of his Father, the King
The pain of defeat and the “ashes” of grief
The comfort of the garden
The temptations of love and the woman…
…and ultimately, the Great War and reclamation of the Kingdom.
The metaphors run deep, but all these events seek to accomplish one thing:
TO AWAKEN THE WILD MAN FROM HIS SLUMBER, BRING HIM INTO THE LIFE OF THE PRINCE, AND MATURE THE PRINCE INTO A KING.
THE MAKING OF A MAN
In a world where men are taught to be either strong and emotionless, or passive and weak, it can be difficult to find examples of what a “real man” looks like.
Iron John and Bly’s commentary give us a solid place to start.
In the absence of male mentors or strong allies, it is vital to know that we can always call upon the Wild Man within, and overcome any adversity that faces us.
However…
Calling upon the Wild Man within can only be done alone for so long.
Bly teaches that this myth, along with others, must be backed by a group of initiated older men… wise elders… in order to make the lessons concrete and real.
ALTHOUGH THIS STORY HAS BEEN TOLD AROUND CAMPFIRES FOR MILLENNIA, MANY MEN HAVE MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECLAIM THEIR MASCULINITY BECAUSE THERE ARE NO OTHER MEN TO BRING THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS.
We need myth and metaphor to act as a bridge to explain the inner workings of our own souls…
…BUT THAT’S ONLY THE FIRST PART OF THE JOURNEY.
AT K4 MEN, WE’VE USED IRON JOHN AS A KEY PARABLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE SACRED PROCESS OF MALE MATURITY, BUT ALSO GIVEN MEN A PLACE TO WORK THE TRUTHS OUT IN THEIR OWN LIFE… BACKED BY MALE ALLIES AND MENTORS.
Our Rite Of Passage spends three weeks exploring the deeper meaning behind the metaphors in Iron John and shows practical ways to apply those lessons.
To release your inner Wild Man, click here
