The Use Of Jungian Archetypes In Strange Fish

Milton Schorr discusses the Jungian Archetypes through a breakdown of his award winning novel Strange Fish.

I had limited knowledge of Jungian archetypes when I set out to write Strange Fish, although the Jungian inspiration was strong. I had been exposed to a little of Jung’s Dream Interpretation Theory, and the idea that everyone in the dream is a different aspect of the self was something I wanted to apply to the Hero Myth. In hindsight, Strange Fish is a very clear account of the process of Individuation, as Jono moves through the different archetypes both within the story, and within himself.

I thought a great way to discuss the Jungian Archetypes, and the process of Individuation that is the result of bringing their unconscious presence into the conscious, would be to break down their roles in the novel. 

The Persona

In the beginning we meet Jono as a meek and nearly invisible orphan fisher boy. He spends his days trying to pay back the debt he owes the fierce fish factory owner Uncle Mike, and otherwise doing his best to stay out of Uncle Mike’s way - a representation of a strong warrior Animus - fierce, violent and compassionless.

Jono’s Persona is thus one of meekness and invisibility. He is helpless and resigned - a state ripe for the Hero archetype to appear.

Awareness and Reflection

Awareness and reflection is a critical part of Jung’s Individuation process, and this for Jono begins with the discovery of the pearl in the mouth of a strange fish he catches one morning. He realizes that if he can find more of these pearls his life can change, prompting him to confront his great fear - the depth of the ocean.

Confronting the Shadow

Jono's fear of water symbolizes his unresolved trauma from his parents' drowning, a story and a memory lodged deep inside him, in his Personal Unconscious. The moment where he stands undecided on the gunnel of his little boat, afraid of the shadows of sharks, is a moment of reckoning with his own Shadow, and of accessing the Hero archetype within. Using the courage of the Hero archetype out of necessity, Jono dives into the water, beginning his confrontation with his Shadow, and his own process of Individuation.

Startlingly, the character of the mermaid’s guardian, the great octopus, is a direct representation of his Shadow - a beast that lives in the dark, that seeks to destroy his Persona, and that also hides the treasure he is seeking - access to his Anima.

Exploring Anima and Animus

Jono meets a lonely mermaid down there, and the two fall in love. Jono begins to explore his own Anima through her - the part of him that has been utterly neglected in his short, stunted life. She opens up depths of feeling, emotion and inspiration, due also to her access to the ocean, the Mother or Goddess archetype, that will be crucial later. In this time he learns about love, courage, and vulnerability.

At the same time, his growing bond puts him in opposition to Uncle Mike, his unrealised Animus, and he begins to look at his ward with new eyes, studying the Animus from a new perspective.

Embracing the Hero’s Journey

When Uncle Mike discovers the lair of the mermaid and attacks them both, Jono’s defiance represents his journey into his own Animus or manhood. He faces the violent power of the huge man, a sight he has always cowered from in the past, and summons up the courage from his Hero archetype to confront him physically.  This act frees him from the meek Persona that had kept him trapped until now, and hurls him into the full storm of his Shadow. Believing the mermaid has abandoned him, he goes into the wilderness to battle alone.

The Dream Twist

It is here that the story takes an interesting turn, one inspired by that central Jungian Dream Interpretation idea - that everyone in the dream is a representation of the Self, and so everyone in Strange Fish is an aspect of Jono.

The mermaid comes out of the water, searching for Jono, giving up her life in the ocean (and her connection to the Mother archetype), and instead she finds Uncle Mike. Suddenly Anima and Animus are pitted against each other, dependent on each other for survival, without the gaze of the Self. We are thrust into Personal and even Collective Unconscious, the reader observing as the two opposites meet, war, and finally find softness and understanding, each within the other.

Recognizing the Divine Child

The subplot of the arrival of the foreign fisher folk and their attempt to take over the village provides the opportunity for the Divine Child archetype to emerge, with a twist.

Jono returns from the wilderness to seeming emptiness, not knowing that the mermaid has been taken captive, and Uncle Mike destroyed. On learning the truth of his parents and Uncle Mike’s until now hidden role to play within it, and believing the mermaid to have abandoned him, Jono enters the water, casting off all of his previous life, in the hope of finding a new one.

Jono has become the Divine Child. His unconscious has been made conscious, and he enters the ocean, the symbol of the Divine Mother, ready to be born anew. The twist, of course, is that we the reader are aware of the place of his Anima and Animus, but he is not.

Path to Wholeness

Having unearthed all of his archetypes and integrated with them in some sense, he is now left horribly unbalanced. He believes his Anima has abandoned him, and in it’s place is a now raging Animus - the strength and aggression of Uncle Mike cauterised into a bitterness within his soul - the rage his meek Persona had kept hidden for so long.

Thus, Jono sets off into a new world, a Divine Child ready to receive the power of rebirth from the great mother, the ocean, but deeply flawed.

And so, the sequel, and the trilogy, is ready to be written.

Conclusion

Writing Strange Fish was a deliberate attempt for me to understand my own process of facing my Shadow after the break up of a pivotal relationship in my own life. It has been fascinating to write the story without Jungian knowledge, carefully and honestly in the tradition of mythical literature, and afterwards to discover the clear archetypal journey and process both my character and I went through.

Further Reading: What Is The Hero Myth Story?