JUNGIAN APPROACH TO INDIVIDUATION OF PERSONALITY IN THE SHORT STORY EMPTY ROOMS BY CAN XUE
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Abstract
Creative work is the highest and most complex form of mental activity, so the elaboration of the role of the unconscious in the structure of artistic creativity and perception is important for the analysis of the psychology of art and fiction works. According to C. G. Jung, the birth of each work is always associated with the action of powerful forces that rest in the collective unconscious and are manifested through the work of an individual artist. In Jungian psychology, Individuation is the process of achieving psychological maturation wherein individuals are integrating their conscious and unconscious mind to create a balanced/mature psyche. The motif of the individuation in literature covers a range of situations in which an individual – typically young, often innocent person – experiences during the plot of the story a moment of enlightenment, a discovery or an initiation leading to recognition of a “significant truth about the world, society people, or [one] self”. A modern Chinese writer Can Xue (残雪, born in 1953) is especially interested in the workings of the mind, thus her works often deal with notions, ideas, and images that lend themselves to a Jungian reading, specifically from the perspective of the principle of individuation which is to be the focus of this analysis. Can Xue’s imagination creates a mysterious and ghostly atmosphere of a literary text, filled with amazing and scary images. The writer has the ability to penetrate deeply into the depths of the human psyche, to unequivocally reveal the tragic essence of human existence through the prism of her own life experience. Thus, the amplification method developed by C. G. Jung, in combination with historical and comparative typological methods, made it possible to carry out an analytical interpretation of Can Xue’ Empty Rooms (“空房间”, 2009) short story from the standpoint of self-hood and its reflective consciousness. In the short story Empty Rooms there are several aspects of the unconscious mind (The Buildings, The Doors, The Archetypical Inhabitants, The Home Search) that need to be integrated with the conscious, psychological components consisting of all rejected and repressed aspects of one’s personality. The process of dealing with all these aspects is analogous to the journey of the Hero archetype, and the goal of this journey is Individuation, whereby one becomes connected to their Self, an archetype that represents wholeness and totality.
How to Cite
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archetype, C. G. Jung, Can Xue, individuation, Literature, short story, unconscious
Akam J. H. and Yahya W. (2018), “Overcoming the shadow and achieving individuation through a Hero’s journey in Tunku Halim’s ‘A Sister’s Tale’ ”, Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 345–358, available at: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/60246/1/20%20JSSH-1855-2016-3rdProof.pdf (accessed April 9, 2021).
Bell A. G. (1935), “Office Cat”, in The Winona Times, January 4, Column 2, Winona, Mississippi, p. 2, available at: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/304230062/ (accessed April 16, 2021).
Chang A. (2009), “The Witch and the Damsel: The Female Quest for Individuation in Marilyn McLaughlin’s ‘Witchwoman’ ”, Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 24, pp. 101–109.
Dhanya A. P. and Sudakshina Bhattacharya (2019), “The Praxis of the Wedded Mystic: a Divergent Reading of Easterine Kire’s novel When the River Sleeps”, Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Vol. 11, No. 3, available at: http://rupkatha.com/V11/n3/v11n305.pdf (accessed April 9, 2021). https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v11n3.05
Dil J. (2010), “Writing as self-therapy: competing therapeutic paradigms in Murakami Haruki’s Rat trilogy”, Japan Forum, Vol. 22, Issue 1–2, pp. 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2010.488942
Efthimiadis-Keith H. (2017), “The Memory of Original Wholeness and Conscious Differentiation in Genesis 1:1–2:4a”, Old Testament essays, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 283–299. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n2a6
Ellerhoff S. G. (2015), “Luke Skywalker’s Individuation”, Jung Journal, Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp. 44–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/19342039.2015.1053378
Feist J., Feist G. and Roberts T. A. (2002), Theories of Personality, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.
Gulic I. (2017), “Sexual stereotypes and personality development in Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits”, Studies in European Cinema, Vol. 14, Issue 3, pp. 184–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2017.1354144
Jung C. G. (1976), The Portable Jung, Transl. by Hull R. F. C., Penguin Books, New York, NY.
Jung C. G. (2010), With Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams (Bollingen), Transl. by Hull R. F. C., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Jung C. G. (2014a), “Conscious, unconscious, and individuation”, in Read H. and Fordham M. (eds), Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 9 (Part 1): Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 275–289. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.275
Jung C. G. (2014b), “Answer to Job”, in Read H. and Fordham M. (eds), Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 355–470. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850983.355
Kafka Franz (1971), The Complete Stories, Schocken Books, New York, NY.
Leader C. (2009), “The Odyssey – a Jungian Perspective: Individuation and Meeting with the Archetypes of the collective unconscious”, British Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 25, Issue 4, pp. 506–519. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0118.2009.01145.x
Mays K. and Booth A. (2018), The Norton Introduction to Literature, 13th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY.
Pi Popo (2012), Can Xue’s spatialized vision: Buildings and the exploration of the soul, M.A. University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.
Schmidt M. (2005), “Individuation: finding oneself in analysis – taking risks and making sacrifices”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 50, Issue 5, pp. 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8774.2005.00560.x
Shams P. and Farideh P. (2015), “The Mariner’s Way of Individuation: An Insight into the Jungian Principle of Acausality”, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1–2, pp. 45–54. https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2015.34.1-2.45
Shirazi M. and Yahya W. (2014), “P A Jungian Approach to Self-fragmentation of Twentieth Century in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four”, International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 224–233. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.3n.6p.224
Siddiq M. (1978), “The Process of Individuation in Al-Tayyeb Salih’s ‘Novel Season of Migration to the North’ ”, Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 9, pp. 67–104. https://doi.org/10.1163/157006478X00084
Stein M. (2005), “Some reflections on the influence of Chinese thought on Jung and his psychological theory”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 50, Issue 2, pp. 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8774.2005.00524.x
Zhu C. (2009), “Analytical psychology and Daoist inner alchemy: a response to C. G. Jung’s ‘Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower’ ”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 54, Issue 4, pp. 493–511. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5922.2009.01799.x
Can Xue (2005), Weile baochou xie xiaoshuo – Can Xue fangtanlu, Changsha, Hunnan wenyi chubanshe, Hunnan. (In Chinese).
Can Xue (2009), Heian linghun de wudao – Can Xue meiwen zixuanji, Wenhui chubanshe, Shanghai. (In Chinese).
Can Xue (2010), Quguang yundong, Shanghai eenyi chubanshe, Shanghai. (In Chinese).
REFERENCES
Akam J. H. and Yahya W. (2018), “Overcoming the shadow and achieving individuation through a Hero’s journey in Tunku Halim’s ‘A Sister’s Tale’ ”, Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 345–358, available at: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/60246/1/20%20JSSH-1855-2016-3rdProof.pdf (accessed April 9, 2021).
Bell A. G. (1935), “Office Cat”, in The Winona Times, January 4, Column 2, Winona, Mississippi, p. 2, available at: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/304230062/ (accessed April 16, 2021).
Chang A. (2009), “The Witch and the Damsel: The Female Quest for Individuation in Marilyn McLaughlin’s ‘Witchwoman’ ”, Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 24, pp. 101–109.
Dhanya A. P. and Sudakshina Bhattacharya (2019), “The Praxis of the Wedded Mystic: a Divergent Reading of Easterine Kire’s novel When the River Sleeps”, Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Vol. 11, No. 3, available at: http://rupkatha.com/V11/n3/v11n305.pdf (accessed April 9, 2021). https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v11n3.05
Dil J. (2010), “Writing as self-therapy: competing therapeutic paradigms in Murakami Haruki’s Rat trilogy”, Japan Forum, Vol. 22, Issue 1–2, pp. 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2010.488942
Efthimiadis-Keith H. (2017), “The Memory of Original Wholeness and Conscious Differentiation in Genesis 1:1–2:4a”, Old Testament essays, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 283–299. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n2a6
Ellerhoff S. G. (2015), “Luke Skywalker’s Individuation”, Jung Journal, Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp. 44–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/19342039.2015.1053378
Feist J., Feist G. and Roberts T. A. (2002), Theories of Personality, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.
Gulic I. (2017), “Sexual stereotypes and personality development in Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits”, Studies in European Cinema, Vol. 14, Issue 3, pp. 184–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2017.1354144
Jung C. G. (1976), The Portable Jung, Transl. by Hull R. F. C., Penguin Books, New York, NY.
Jung C. G. (2010), With Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams (Bollingen), Transl. by Hull R. F. C., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Jung C. G. (2014a), “Conscious, unconscious, and individuation”, in Read H. and Fordham M. (eds), Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 9 (Part 1): Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 275–289. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.275
Jung C. G. (2014b), “Answer to Job”, in Read H. and Fordham M. (eds), Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 355–470. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850983.355
Kafka Franz (1971), The Complete Stories, Schocken Books, New York, NY.
Leader C. (2009), “The Odyssey – a Jungian Perspective: Individuation and Meeting with the Archetypes of the collective unconscious”, British Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 25, Issue 4, pp. 506–519. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0118.2009.01145.x
Mays K. and Booth A. (2018), The Norton Introduction to Literature, 13th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY.
Pi Popo (2012), Can Xue’s spatialized vision: Buildings and the exploration of the soul, M.A. University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.
Schmidt M. (2005), “Individuation: finding oneself in analysis – taking risks and making sacrifices”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 50, Issue 5, pp. 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8774.2005.00560.x
Shams P. and Farideh P. (2015), “The Mariner’s Way of Individuation: An Insight into the Jungian Principle of Acausality”, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1–2, pp. 45–54. https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2015.34.1-2.45
Shirazi M. and Yahya W. (2014), “P A Jungian Approach to Self-fragmentation of Twentieth Century in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four”, International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 224–233. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.3n.6p.224
Siddiq M. (1978), “The Process of Individuation in Al-Tayyeb Salih’s ‘Novel Season of Migration to the North’ ”, Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 9, pp. 67–104. https://doi.org/10.1163/157006478X00084
Stein M. (2005), “Some reflections on the influence of Chinese thought on Jung and his psychological theory”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 50, Issue 2, pp. 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8774.2005.00524.x
Zhu C. (2009), “Analytical psychology and Daoist inner alchemy: a response to C. G. Jung’s ‘Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower’ ”, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 54, Issue 4, pp. 493–511. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5922.2009.01799.x
Can Xue (2005), Weile baochou xie xiaoshuo – Can Xue fangtanlu, Changsha, Hunnan wenyi chubanshe, Hunnan. (In Chinese).
Can Xue (2009), Heian linghun de wudao – Can Xue meiwen zixuanji, Wenhui chubanshe, Shanghai. (In Chinese).
Can Xue (2010), Quguang yundong, Shanghai eenyi chubanshe, Shanghai. (In Chinese).