Failure of Integrating the self in Robert Eggres' The Lighthouse (2019)

Abstract

This study scrutinizes the film, The Lighthouse (2019), directed by Robert Eggers, in light of Jungian archetypal theory. Owing to the movie being considerably recent, and of an ambiguous, surreal nature—which makes it pliable to most any kind of interpretation—the few scholarly attempts at interpretation may have derailed because the two-hander quality of the cinema has been foregone to focus on the minor motifs; namely, the mermaid. Along with the plot’s pre-existing ambiguity, the deviation added to the confusion of what the film could possibly be trying to communicate. This study ventures to bridge the gap by focusing on examining the conflict between the two characters. The researcher opines that instead of taking Thomas Wake and Ephraim Winslow (also known as Thomas Howard) at face value, they need to be seen as symbolic representations of each other’s shadow archetypes; the Senex and the Puer Aeternus, respectively. The screenplay also supports the notion as they are named ‘Old’ and ‘Young’—hence, reflections of each other. Thus, the film is interpreted to be playing out entirely within the psychic domain of one ‘Thomas’. The concept of the archetypes and individuation as introduced by Jung, and refined by Marie-Louise von Franz, create the theoretical framework of this research; that is then applied to the textual analysis of the film, in tandem with the script. It was found that despite the friction between Wake and Winslow, they still wanted to find a middle ground—so as to begin the process of individuation. However, the failure to establish sustained amicability led to failure of individuation, and in turn, the integration of the self. Keywords: Archetypes, Individuation, Psyche, Representation, Self.