Clarice's view of Catherine Martin as she peers down into the well while pursuing Jame Gumb.
In part 24 of this analysis, a brief description of the shadow in Jungian psychology was given. In this post, we will go into more detail on what the shadow is, and we will see that Catherine Martin represents Clarice Starling's shadow.
As indicated in part 24 of this analysis, the shadow is an unconscious complex defined as the repressed, suppressed or disowned qualities of the conscious self.[a] It is one of the three most recognizable archetypes, the others being the anima and animus and the persona. "Everyone carries a shadow," Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."[b] It may be (in part) one's link to more primitive animal instincts, which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind.The shadow may appear in dreams and visions in various forms, and, according to von Franz, typically appears as a person of the same sex as that of the dreamer.[c] In the analysis of The Silence of the Lambs, it was stated that Catherine Martin being in the well in Jame Gumb's basement, corresponds to Clarice Starling being in the basement itself. This is an indication of a correspondence between the two women themselves; in particular, Catherine represents Starling's Jungian shadow.
Speaking generally, one's encounter with one's own shadow plays a central part in the process of individuation. Jung considered that "The meeting with oneself is, at first, a meeting with one's own shadow. The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well"[d] (emphasis not in original).
The shadow sometimes overwhelms a person's actions; for example, when the conscious mind is shocked, confused, or paralyzed by indecision.[e]
The interaction between Starling and Catherine Martin in Jame Gumb's basement is a confused and frantic one, indicating that Clarice is, at this point, close to being overwhelmed by her shadow
a. Wikipedia, 'Analytical psychology'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_psychology.
b. Jung, C.G. "Psychology and Religion" in The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 11. Princeton University Press, 1969. para. 131. Google Books. URL = https://books.google.com.
c. Wikipedia, 'Shadow (psychology)'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology).
d. Jung, C.G. The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 9, Part 1. Princeton University Press, 1969. para. 45. Google Books. URL = https://books.google.com.
e. Wikipedia, 'Shadow (psychology)'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology).
