Through the Eyes of the Dark Mother: A Phenomenological Narrative Inquiry of Young Adults in a Post-COVID World

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has primarily been studied as a public health and social crisis; however, its psychological and symbolic significance for young adults navigating the transition to adulthood remains underexplored. This dissertation investigates how emerging adults experienced and interpreted their lived pandemic experiences.

Using a qualitative approach, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the study analyzed oral histories collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions with five young adults. Participants frequently described the period as one of prolonged liminality, characterized by temporal disorientation, suspended educational and social milestones, and uncertainty regarding future pathways. Typical markers of transition into adulthood were delayed, modified, or dissolved, leaving many participants navigating extended states of ambiguity.

To interpret these experiences, participants’ narratives were situated within an interdisciplinary framework integrating happiness theory, historical comparison with the 1918 flu, and depth-psychological interpretation. Drawing on happiness theory associated with Ruut Veenhoven, the analysis considers how environmental conditions, personal capacities, social utility, and subjective life evaluation interact to shape well-being. The findings suggest that experiences of crisis are also mediated by symbolic meaning-making processes. The study

reviewed the concept of symbolic mediation to describe the narrative and interpretive frameworks that influence the relationship between external circumstances and subjective well-being.

A depth-psychological perspective informed by archetypal traditions, specifically Dark Mother myths, was employed to explore the symbolic dimensions of the participants’ narratives. Analyses suggest that pandemic experiences often resonate with archetypal motifs, including themes of confinement, vulnerability, and the dissolution of familiar structures. These interpretations are contextualized through historical comparisons with narrative accounts of the 1918 flu, revealing recurring experiential patterns across pandemics.

The dissertation contributes empirically by documenting emerging adult pandemic narratives and theoretically by extending well-being scholarship through symbolic mediation. It also demonstrates the integration of archetypal hermeneutics within qualitative analysis and proposes mythological literacy as a potential resource for supporting meaning-making during periods of collective disruption. Overall, the study suggests that collective crises may activate enduring symbolic dynamics that shape how individuals experience and narrate uncertainty, highlighting the importance of narrative and meaning-making in human responses to societal upheaval.