The Archetype of the Trickster in the Writings of C.G. Jung

Abstract

Jung dealt with the concept of the trickster archetype in many of his works. References to his interpretations of the impact of this archetype and the myths associated with this figure are also scattered in many places of his works devoted to various issues. The notion of the archetype is extremely complex in his grasp, and the ways of understanding it are evolving, similarly to the concept of the unconscious. These evolutions are related to the transition from the plan of patterns of individual human development, to the development of the species, to the recognition of the very patterns of the development of reality, so they contain references to the psychological, anthropological, and philosophical levels. According to Jung, the trickster archetype expresses –i n the most general terms –the conflict of these patterns, which introduces a certain factor to the development process that is both disharmonizing and dynamizing at the same time.