The Shadowy Other in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Ego's Quest for Balance

Author

Imene Belhassen

Date of Award

7-1-2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Randy Robertson

Committee Members

[?], Rebecca Umland, Yozan Mosig

Keywords

poetry, Frankenstein, Literary analysis

Abstract/Description

This thesis examines the notion of the other in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, in the context provided by Carl Gustav Jung's analytical theory, i.e., his notions of the collective unconscious, the archetypes, and in particular, the shadow. Some characters, such as Victor Frankenstein and the Monster, are shown to function as symbolic representations of ego and shadow. The ocean symbolizes the collective unconscious, while the ship represents the process ofindividuation leading to the emergence of the self.

The narrator is Mary Shelly herself, after sailing the dark waves ofher unconscious. The otherness represented by Victor Frankenstein's creation reveals itself as an internal struggle rather than an extrinsic one. The resolution of the conflict involves the constructive complementation of ego and shadow through the emergence of the self, rather than the annihilation ofone at the expense of the other.

The creative section offers some poems focusing on the notion of the other, as expressed in Frankenstein, including Jungian imagery as well as the author's personal experiences, being an outsider herself, a Muslim Arab female living in the American Midwest. Different voices, such as the poetry of witness, are explored, using as a form the prose poem.

Comments

White blank space on p. 86 is in the original and is not a scanning artifact.

Recommended Citation

Belhassen, Imene, "The Shadowy Other in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Ego's Quest for Balance" (2007). English Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity. 20.
https://openspaces.unk.edu/eng-etd/20