Emily Tucker- Jung's Idea of the Second Self

     Carl Jung's process of individuation involves integrating the conscious and unconscious aspects of ourselves to facilitate inner growth and self-realization. One of the central concepts to this is the idea of the second self, or shadow. This shadow is a universal archetype that Jung claims we all possess within the depths of our unconscious, and it represents the repressed dark side of our personality that our ego doesn't identify with. 

    In Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Thomas Van Nortwick writes about the heroes journey by studying the relationship between the hero and the hero's shadow-self including Gilgamesh and Enkidu in The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad. Ultimately, he reveals that "spiritual wholeness" is achieved via negation of the self. 

    Nortwick states, "The emphasis is on the second self as a dark, sinister figure, who often stalks the unsuspecting hero, driving him to what feels like murder, but is really a kind of suicide." This "suicide" refers to the death of the ego, which is necessary to achieve individuation and spiritual growth. While many look upon the second self as an evil character, Nortwick emphasizes how the second self is simply the opposite, or complement of the hero, not necessarily the "sinister" side. By approaching it this way, we can see the potential for spiritual growth in every person. Furthermore, an essential element towards achieving spiritual growth through individuation is the absorbance of the second self, which must not be confused with mimicking the second self. The hero shouldn't walk the same path as his shadow, but he should become a new man made from two personalities and walk his own path. In other words, the hero needs to come to terms with his second self that his ego chooses to suppress and recognize it as a part of himself by bringing it into his consciousness. 

    

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