Shadow (archetype)

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The shadow is in the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung one of the most important parts of the personality and at the same time, in his impersonal aspect, an archetype of the collective unconscious . The psychological concept of shadow has both an individual and a collective meaning. - To 'shadow' in the sense of 'soul' (also of the dead) or as a real 'doppelganger spirit' or similar. of a man see shadow (mythology) .

Personal shadow

Shadow parts of the human being according to CG Jung in relation to persona and self-awareness

The shadow of a man contains according to Jung, what its positive (naive) self-image and his "Theater Mask '(Persona) precludes. The shadow's 'darkness' - seen from the perspective of the self-consciousness - is also its unconsciousness, and besides 'evil' positive development impulses can also come from the shadow. A distinction can be made between personal shadow sides and collective, archetypal structures of the shadow. As a part of the psyche of an individual person , the shadow, according to CG Jung, comprises unconscious or partially conscious parts of the personality that are often suppressed or denied because they conflict with the image of the self-consciousness of oneself : "Its [the shadow's] nature leaves itself out to a large extent open up the contents of the personal unconscious "and therefore shadow work is at the same time work on becoming conscious of the personal unconscious.

The shadow as a moral problem and a problem of opposites

"The shadow is a moral problem, which challenges the whole of the ego-personality ... Is this realization a matter of recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as really present." These dark sides of each individual range from the motivations close to the ego consciousness, which, however, due to moral considerations, are not readily made aware, up to the whole wealth of the "natural man" including his "animal ancestors" and corresponding behavior (see also Trickster ). Archetypal symbols of the shadow are, for example, “dark doppelgangers” or “evil opponents of the hero or heroine”.

The shadow in this sense represents the counterpart to the persona , the “theater mask” of a person. It often contains the 'negative', socially undesirable and therefore suppressed traits of the personality, that is, that part of the ego that likes to be kept unconscious because of possibly socially incompatible tendencies becomes. Its development already begins in the first years of human life as a result of the demands, expectations, commands and prohibitions brought to the individual by the environment. These allow only part of the personality to develop. The personal shadow grows parallel to the persona, as it were as its negative; the shadow then lives quite independently of the self-awareness. If the shadow is withdrawn from conscious control, it can interfere with the ego-consciousness in an affectively and disruptive manner, similar to a complex in an “obsessive or - better - possessed manner”. In the aspect of its 'naturalness' and as opposed to collective values is a match of this 'shadow' concept to the Freudian concept of time , which in contrast to the ego and superego represents unconscious parts of the personality.

Positive shadow

The more or less strong 'darkness' of the shadow is also a sign of its distance from consciousness or unconsciousness; this does not always have to be identified with the 'evil' or the moral valuation of the shadow depends heavily on the reference system used. Jung wrote about this differentiation: "If up until then one was of the opinion that the human shadow was the source of all evil, then one can now recognize that the unconscious human being, precisely the shadow, consists not only of morally reprehensible tendencies, but rather also has a number of good qualities, namely normal instincts, purposeful reactions, realistic perceptions, creative impulses and more "; the evil in the shadows often only arises through the "twisting, crippling, misinterpretation and misuse of facts that are in themselves natural".

Shadow projection and projection withdrawal

Initially, one's own shadow is usually negated or projected onto people and objects outside of one's self . Unconscious shadow projections onto the other person are typical elements of personal as well as collective (e.g. national) conflicts. Awareness of these involuntary shadow projections can therefore massively improve the possibilities for conflict resolution. Dealing with one's own shadow, integrating it into the overall personality, is one of the central tasks of the human maturation process, according to Jung, and represents an indispensable step on the way to becoming whole ( individuation ). As a predominantly moral problem, it demands considerable mental performance from the individual . Often it is also the subject of psychotherapy (e.g. psychoanalysis ), where the widespread "fear of one's own shadow" can be overcome in a protected setting; The well-known phrase “jump over one's shadow” can also go with this step.

The conscious confrontation with one's own shadow, which is often shown drastically in dreams, is very profitable, according to Jung, because: "It is often tragic to see how transparently a person botches life for himself and others, but for everything in the world cannot see to what extent the whole tragedy emanates from himself and is nourished and entertained by himself again and again. " Usually, however, unintegrated dark sides lead to their projection onto other people or groups (see above). In this way, among other things, prejudices arise , but also the well-known “ scapegoat ” syndrome and phenomena such as xenophobia , racism , anti-Semitism or even homophobia . The idea of ​​the devil can sometimes be explained by the projection of the shadow outwards.

Archetypal shadow

According to Jung, behind the personal shadowy side of an individual there is often a collective shadow , i.e. an archetypal background that promotes the development of the individual's personal shadow: "But where it [the shadow] comes into question as an archetype , one encounters the same difficulties as with the animus and anima ; in other words, it is within the realm of possibility of knowing the relative evil of one's nature, whereas it is a rare and harrowing experience to face absolute evil ”. The archetype of the shadow is a religious problem that CG Jung has dealt with throughout his life. For example, the Antichrist could be interpreted as an archetypal shadow of Christ; and from a psychological point of view it corresponds to the "shadow of the self, namely the dark half of human totality, which one must not judge too optimistically".

Appearance and presentation forms

The archetypal structure in the appearance of collective as well as personal shadows in dreams, myths and stories includes his appearance as a stranger , as an enemy , as a rival or generally as a person with a negative mind to the dreamer or protagonist. As a rule, they belong to the same gender as the person themselves, but often differ from them, for example, through a different temperament or an opposite way of life, through a different skin color or nationality . Usually the character emanates from something threatening, suspicious or terrifying. It is not uncommon for the dreamer to struggle with the figure, which corresponds to the confrontation of the person with his shadow at an initially unconscious level, but can also go hand in hand with a conscious confrontation.

The archetype of the shadow was also represented and processed in many ways in mythology and in works of art and literature . A well-known example is Mr. Hyde, the negative, criminal side of the virtuous doctor Dr. Jekyll in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . In Oscar Wilde's novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray, a painter captures the shadow of the protagonist Dorian Gray in a painting that will in future reflect the traces of his wild life, while he himself remains unchanged young and beautiful.

In worldwide fairy tales and legends , the motif of the knight found that a dark other knight or a dragon defeat has to hand a Virgin , Princess or the like, so from the perspective of a male consciousness a highest value of his love to win. If the dragon is not interpreted here as a mother archetype , it can be understood as an expression of the archetype of the shadow, which in particular stands in the way of the awakening of the anima and thus the establishment of love relationships. The killing of the dragon can allegorically stand for the at least initially successful confrontation with the shadow - this archetypal pattern is shown, for example, in the Andromeda myth , the myth of the Archangel Michael and in the legends of St. George . The oldest written myth, the Gilgamesh epic , also contains an outline of the shadow problem in the hero's argument with his animal blood brother. With a view to a female consciousness , the shadow in the fairy tale can appear, for example, as the stepmother, the false queen, the greedy sister or the scheming rival who must be defeated or (less often) changed in order for the heroine (as a model of a new female consciousness ) the "new queen" at the side of her "prince" - from an individual psychological point of view: her positive animus - can become.

Pathological consequences

After being repressed into the unconscious - or after the avoidance of an archetypically conditioned shadow being allowed to become more conscious - the negative traits of one's own personality usually develop considerable dynamism and effectiveness. According to Jung, this breaks out on the one hand in corresponding (night) dreams of the person concerned; it can lead to anxiety and obsessional neuroses.

The projection of the shadow outwards is also part of the psychiatric clinical picture of paranoia and of delusions in general . Pathological shadow projection (where the shadow under certain circumstances also dominates the whole personality in its collective aspect) can have the worst consequences; this process was also a constituent part with many facets in the ideology and practice of National Socialism . So said Adolf Hitler z. B. about Winston Churchill : "For more than five years this man has been chasing around Europe like a madman, looking for something to set alight."

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §13.
  2. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §42.
  3. ^ CG Jung (1950). Aion: Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §14.
  4. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §422.
  5. ^ CG Jung (1950). Aion: Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §15.
  6. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §423.
  7. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion: Contributions to the symbolism of the self. GW Volume 9/2: §16
  8. ^ Carl Gustav Jung: About the archetypes of the collective unconscious (first publication 1935, revised 1954). In: Collected Works 9/1 , § 152.
  9. ^ Carl Gustav Jung: Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . (First published in 1948, revised in 1950). In: Gesammelte Werke 9/2 , § 13-19.
  10. ^ Marie-Louise von Franz: About projection. Your relationship to illness and mental maturation . In: Psychotherapy. Practical experience . Daimon, Einsiedeln 1990. p. 271. ISBN 3-85630-036-8 .
  11. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion. Contributions to the symbolism of the self . GW Volume 9/2: §62.
  12. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion: Contributions to the symbolism of the self. GW Volume 9/2: §19
  13. ↑ See e.g. BCG Jung (1952): Answer to Job. GW 11: §553-758.
  14. ^ CG Jung (1950): Aion: Contributions to the symbolism of the self. GW Volume 9/2: §76
  15. ↑ Adolf Hitler quoted from Marie-Louise von Franz (1968): The Individuation Process. In CG. Jung et al .: The human being and his symbols (16th edition in Walter Verlag, Zurich, ISBN 3-530-56501-6 ), pp. 156–229, quotation p. 172.