Ireland and the Cultural Complex: A Collective Transfiguration of Soul

Abstract

Drawing on the theories of complexes, symbols, and the transcendent function, as set forth by C. G. Jung, and cultural complex theory, as developed by Singer and Kimbles, this dissertation seeks to understand the psychological dynamics of division and healing between the Unionists and the Republicans in Northern Ireland. The study undertakes a depth psychological exploration of Ireland’s inner sociology—as manifest in its history, mythology, politics, literature, and its urban art—as a way to bring deeper meaning to the theme of division that lies at the core of the Irish collective psyche. Through the lens of the cultural complex theory, the research identified several complexes within Irish culture, including victim and martyr. The analysis sheds light on an ongoing collective process of recovery from the cultural trauma sustained over the course of Ireland’s history of oppression and violence. Employing Jung’s idea of the transcendent function, describing the psyche’s capacity to reconcile the tension of opposites through the spontaneous production of symbolic imagery, the study proposes that Northern Ireland’s murals and Peace Walls reflect a continued cultural metamorphosis within the Irish culture. These images, considered in sequence and viewed as a kind of collective dream, display a symbolic narrative that prospectively shows the potential for a reconciliation of the division between Republicans and Unionists within the north and between the two countries—the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.