Jungian Archetypes & “the long bag we drag behind us”

Jungian Archetypes &“the long bag we drag behind us” Monica Mladenik Kelcie Williams Julia Chornak

Hiding the Animal • “ Sadly the sexuality, the wildness, the impulsiveness, the anger, the freedom he put in have all regressed; they are not only primitive in mood, they are hostile to the person who opens the bag” (7).

Releasing the Bag • “ The story says that the substance locked in the bag appears one day somewhere else in the city. The substance in the bag feels angry and when you see it, it is shaped like an ape and moves like and ape” (8).

Regressing our Emotions • “ The story says then when we put a part of ourselves in the bag it regresses. It de-evolves toward Barbarism” (7).

Inner Warring • “ Every part of our personality that we do not love will become hostile to us. We could add that it may move to a distant place and begin a revolt against us as well” (8).

Carl Jung (1875-1961) • Born in Switzerland to an educated family • Solitary adolescent- didn’t care for school; couldn’t handle competition • 1st career choice- archeology then went on to study medicine at the University of Basil • Position at Burghoeltzli Mental Hospital in Zurich • Studied with Eugene Bleuler (expert on and namer of schizophrenia) and Sigmund Freud

Visions and Fantasies • Fall of 1913- vision of monstrous flood engulfing Europe • Was afraid he was becoming psychotic • August 1, 1913 WWI began • Recorded dreams/fantasies/visions -> drew/sculpted/painted them • Recurring wise old man, little girl, and leathery brown dwarf

Collective Unconscious • Reservoir of our experiences as a species • A kind of knowledge we are all born with • We can never be directly conscious of it • Influences all our experiences and behaviors especially the emotional ones • Ex: love at first sight, déjà vu, immediate recognition of certain symbols, near-death experiences

Archetypes • The contents of the collective unconscious • An unlearned tendency to experience things a certain way • Has no form, but acts as organizing principle on the things we see or do • Like a black hole in space; you know its there by how it draws light and matter to itself

The Shadow • Derives from our prehuman, animal past when our concerns were limited to survival and reproduction • when we weren’t self-conscious • “dark side” of the ego • Evil we are capable of often stored there • amoral- neither good nor bad • Symbols often include: snake, dragon, monsters, demons

Anima & Animus • Anima- the female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men • young girl • deep emotionality and the force of life itself • Animus- the male aspect present in the collective unconscious of women • wise old man • Logical, rationalistic, argumentative

The shadow in beowulf • “Then out of the night/ came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift… in fighting mood,/ awake and on edge, spoiling for action./ In off the moors, down through the mist-bands/ God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping./ The bane of the race of men roamed forth,/ hunting for a prey in the high hall” (702-713).

Monsters & the shadow • Three monster symbols: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and Dragon • Medieval Christian meaning of “monster” = bad omen • Grendel • Descendant of Cain (106-108) • “Malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (137) • Symbolizes the shadow

The dragon • Biblical symbols: power, sin, Satan • Battle reflects the struggle with shadow • Comparing/contrasting battle with Grendel and battle with Dragon • Can humans destroy the shadow?

Works cited Bly, Robert. A Little Book on the Human Shadow. HarperOne, 1988. PDF file. Boeree, C. George. "Carl Jung." My Webspace Files. 2006. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. Patterson, Laverna. “Symbols in Bible Prophecy.” Teachinghearts. 1 Oct. 2001. Web. 30 Aug 2011.

Jungian Archetypes & “the long bag we drag behind us”