Jung's Shadow Concept: The Hidden Light and Darkness within Ourselves, edited by Christopher Perry and Rupert Tower

A new book on Carl Jung's Concept of the Shadow was published on 5th May of this year (2023).  Jung's Shadow Concept: The Hidden Light and Darkness within Ourselves was edited by Christopher Perry and Rupert Tower.

While those with a broad interest in Carl Jung and his concept of the Shadow will find inspiration from this new text, those whose primary interest is in Daphne du Maurier will also gain new insight.

Rupert Tower, a Jungian analyst, is one of Daphne du Maurier's grandsons, and he has written a chapter which will be of particular note to those interested in Daphne du Maurier and her writing.  Called The Shadow in Literature: Daphne du Maurier's "The Scapegoat", this chapter explores The Scapegoat from the point of view of both a Jungian analyst and the author's grandson.

In this chapter, Rupert discusses Daphne's novel The Scapegoat, first published in 1957, which she herself described as the examination of a 'crisis of identity'.  The novel can also be considered a Shadow encounter, in which a man is invited to become aware of a duality within himself, is called upon to face challenges in his relationships and to begin to relate to unconscious aspects of himself.  The outcome is deliberately ambiguous, yet there is the hopeful potential for some form of internal integration with unlived parts of the self. 

In this chapter, Rupert looks at possible interpretations of the novel and reflects on what Daphne may have been engaging with in her inner life at the time of writing it.

Rupert presented a talk about Jung's Shadow Concept, and particularly this chapter of the book, at the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature in May.  It is a fascinating subject and this book is certain to provide you with much food for thought.