The Shadow Archetype

1. The Other Within Us… The Shadow Archetype “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.” -Carl Gustav Jung

2. What is an Archetype? • “Archetypes are recurring images, descriptive detail patterns, landscapes, and plot or character patterns that appear frequently in literature, folk lore, religion, and myth. They are universal patterns and shapes that ignore cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York). • Unlike a symbol, that represents something other than itself within a particular text or situation, an archetype is NOT text/context dependent. An archetype will always encapsulate the same core meaning each times it appears.

3. What is an Archetype? • “Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, believed in two aspects of the unconscious. The Personal Unconscious contains suppressed events, values, and fears of one’s own life. The Collective Unconscious holds the inherited or taught ideas that persist as memories in the unconscious mind of every individual.” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York)

4. What is An Archetype? • “These ‘racial memories’ of the Collective Unconscious are expressed in literary, historical, political, mythological, and religious decisions and events throughout time.” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York). • Though the pattern is sometimes subtly altered, the major meaning of the archetype still thrusts its head forward in each new occasion. -Snakes, M.C. Escher

5. What is an Archetype? • “Sometimes myths and tales from universal literature comprise well defined themes which reappear everywhere and every time. We find the same themes in fantasies, dreams, delirious ideas, and the illusions of individuals that live in our present days. These thematic images are representations of archetypes, they have archetypes as roots. They impress, influence and fascinate us.” - Carl Jung (C. G. Jung Institute of New York)

6. The Shadow Archetype • “Within each woman and man, the dim cavern of the unconscious holds our forbidden feelings, secret wishes, and creative urges. Over time, these ‘dark’ forces take on a life of their own, forming an intuitively recognizable figure – the Shadow. A recurring theme in literature and legend, the Shadow is like an invisible twin, a stranger that is us, yet is not us. When it acts out in the public domain, we witness our leaders, like hero-villains, fall from grace in scandal. Closer to home, we may feel overcome with rage, obsession, and shame or succumb to self-destructive lies, addiction, and depression. These appearances of the Shadow introduce us to the Other, a powerful force that defies our efforts to tame and control it.” (Zweig)

7. The Shadow Archetype • “[The Shadow] is everything in us that is unconscious, repressed, undeveloped and denied. These are dark rejected aspects of our being as well as light, so there is positive undeveloped potential in the Shadow that we don’t know about because anything that is unconscious remains hidden from our active conscious mind… Everyone has a Shadow. This is not something that one or two people have. We all have a Shadow and a confrontation with the Shadow is essential for self awareness. We cannot learn about ourselves if we do not learn about our Shadow, so, therefore, we are going to attract it through the mirrors of other people.” (Eigen). 

8. The Shadow Archetype • “Our true nature is always hidden. In order to protect our inner self we each present an image or personality in public which meets the expectations of others. This 'mask' also determines how we see ourselves. However, there are parts to our personality which we do not recognize, parts which are unconscious. These could be raw desires and emotions or thoughts and experiences which we are too ashamed to admit to. These will likely be dark aspects of our character which have been rejected or repressed due to our upbringing, or a disapproving society.”  (Wilson)

9. The Shadow Archetype • “The Shadow is difficult to perceive consciously. Since an individual will deny or ignore his or her Shadow side, it is likely that it will be projected onto others. Instead of acknowledging their Shadow, the individual will unconsciously see it in people they encounter or even concepts, objects, ethics or groups... These characteristics that we find hideous in other people could in fact be our own repressed attributes… [we have] stumbled upon parts of…[our] own Shadow.”  (Wilson)

10. The Shadow Archetype • “True, whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the persona, the mask of the actor. But the mirror lies behind the mask and shows the true face.” (Jung 20)

11. When exploring possible literary representations of the Shadow, keep an eye out for reflection contemplation (whether within a man-made or natural mirror). In the mirror, a character’s reflected self is their Shadow; their exact image reversed. Just like Lewis Carroll’s Alice, within the looking glass we all often become someone else.

12. In literature, often the hero’s Shadow is embodied within a foil character. But not every hero/villain pairing is a true Shadow relationship. When the hero’s darker side exists within another character, there must also be a strong surface connection evident between the protagonist and antagonist. They are similar, but disparate. The similarities pull them together as the differences tear them asunder.

13. When seeking evidence of Shadow play in literature, also pay close attention to characters with a significant disconnect between their inner face and their outer façade. When literal or figurative masks are in place, chances are there is a Shadow fully operating behind the fragile covering; it is probable that there is a truer visage hidden behind this false front.

14. Modern Reverberations of the Shadow

15. The Shadow archetype is embodied in a reoccurring character known simply as The Shadow. With his menacing laugh, hypnotic powers, and famous tagline “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…The Shadow knows,” the Shadow character has graced the pages of pulp novels and comic books, shadowed the screens of televisions and movie theaters, and floated across the radio airwaves since the 1930’s.

16. Comic books are ripe with archetype representations and their heroes and villains are consistently paired in shadowy configurations of opposition. Wolverine, one of the most popular X-men, is definitely shadowed by his arch nemesis Sabretooth. Both characters are bestial in appearance and attitude, but the chief difference is a deeply felt code of honor and humanity present within the otherwise grisly character of Wolverine. This respect for humanity is completely lacking within the chaotic and bloodthirsty soul of Sabretooth.

17. Within the Spiderman mythos there is also a heavy-handed sense of self and shadow, light and dark. When Spiderman first dons the black suit, his dark side is unleashed. But once the alien garment is discarded, it creates another symbiotic relationship with a new host and Venom is born. Venom is aligned with Spiderman superficially, sharing similar powers. Like Spiderman, Venom also possesses a strong sense of moral obligation. But Venom’s sense of justice is heavily warped by his need for revenge– his largest goal being to bring about the downfall and death of Spiderman.

18. Within the Batman film The Dark Knight, the co-dependent relationship between hero and villain, light and dark, is pushed to center stage. The Joker repeatedly states that the existence of Batman spurned the creation of the Joker, that each operates against and because of the other. Every coin needs two sides and although the Joker states it flippantly, there is a meaningful subtext when he says to Batman, “You complete me.”

19. The Stars Wars universe is chock-full of deliberate archetypes. The Shadow is no exception. The promotional image to the left directly speaks to the fact that Anakin Skywalker will eventually grow up to be swallowed by his Shadow; he will fall and rise anew as the black-hearted Darth Vader. His literal shadow foreshadows the eventual power his psychological Shadow will possess. The promotional image on the right again highlights this duality, within Anakin, of both light and dark. Tatters of the left portion remain human, but the majority of his face is covered in robotic darkness.

20. Within The Matrix trilogy, there is a strong sense of connection between the heroic Neo and the villainous Agent Smith. Both can eventually access and manipulate the computerized Matrix world. Each man is able to see beyond the programming down to the essential truths of their virtual reality. But Agent Smith refuses to yield his sense of purpose, vying to destroy Neo as Neo struggles to free others from the grip of their false computerized surroundings.

21. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the hero and villain are conjoined through similarities and driven to opposition through significant differences. Both wizards demonstrate extremely powerful aptitudes for magic. The feathers within their wands even possess paralleled cores. But the chief differences define them – Lord Voldemort shrouds himself in hatred while Harry Potter has literally been marked by love. The lightening strike gashed across his forehead is a symbol of his mother’s affection and sacrifice when defending the infant Harry against Lord Voldemort’s attack.

22. In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, a complex system of Self and Shadow is established. There are many surface similarities between the halfling hero Frodo and his shadowy counterpart Gollum. Frodo Baggins is a hobbit, the type of creature Gollum used to be. Both have intimate knowledge of the pain and power associated with the role of a ring-bearer. But Frodo has not yet been completely overcome by his Shadow while Gollum has almost been defeated by the darkness within. Even within this Shadow representative, there is a further split between good and evil. Gollum has two distinct personalities bearing several differing names – Smeagol/Slinker still remembers shreds of his humanity while Gollum/Stinker no longer yearns for the touch of interior sunlight.

23. Major Resources • C. G. Jung Institute of New York. The Carl Jung Institute. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.junginstitute.org>. • Eigen, Rebecca. "The Shadow Dance – Understanding Repetitive Patterns in Relationships.” ShadowDance.com. 09 June 2009. ShadowDance Unlimited. 27 Aug 2009 <http://shadowdance.com/shadow/theshadow>. • Jung, C. G.. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. 2nd ed. New York: Princeton University Press, 1959. Print. • Wilson, Kevin. "Confrontation With the Shadow.“ Insomnium.com. 27 Aug 2009 <insomnium.com>. • Zweig, Connie, and Steve Wolf. Romancing the Shadow: Illuminating the Dark Side of the Soul. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1997. Print.