Jung's Cookie

So it took me a while to settle on a fairytale that had enough characters while not being incredibly long and convoluted. Eventually I decided that the Gingerbread Man was as good a story as any. We'll see how this goes.

With the Gingerbread Man as the dreamer:

• given life by the old lady, who starts out as a positive anima in bringing gingy into existence.
• old lady quickly becomes a negative anima when she decides that gingy would make a good snack.
• encounters the husband (shadow) in escaping from the old lady, and the old man joins in the pursuit. at this point the gingerbread man still believes in his ability to defeat the shadow rather than embracing them.
• next encounters the cow (shadow) who also desires the end of mr. gingy's life and his being brought completely into the shadow.
• the horse is the next shadow the gingerbread man encounters. once again he denies the shadow's power and thinks himself to be invincible.
• then the gingerbread man runs into a whole party of people (shadows) and invites them to test his mettle. he still doubts that the shadow is stronger than he is.
• next the gingerbread man encounters the fox (shadow), whom he invites to join in the chase. the fox denies his interest, and even promises him safe travel across the river, making himself seem to be the self in the story. maybe he really is. in the end the fox's trickery ends in the gingerbread man's demise, though the question remains whether he's being absorbed into the shadow or transcended into a higher plane. is there really even a difference?

With the Old Lady as the dreamer:

• creates the gingerbread man as an extension of her Self (since a cookie is fairly gender-neutral the differences of sex aren't too big of an issue)
• gingerbread man escapes, expressing her desire for freedom.
• follows after it in order to be more human, to inhibit herself properly.
• husband (negative animus) tries to catch the gingerbread man and inhibit her freedom.
• the cow (shadow of responsibility) begins to chase the gingerbread man in order to draw it back to the kitchen.
• the horse (shadow of diligence) joins in the chase.
• the party of workers (shadows of community, sameness) also join in the chase to bring the old lady back to the familiar.
• the fox (seemingly a self) offers help to the gingerbread man, tantalizing the woman with the taste of freedom and then taking it away just when hope seems brightest. the poor woman is stuck. ouch.

Posted in response to the Week Four prompts