The Search for the Jungian Stranger in the Novels Of
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE SEARCH FOR THE JUNGIAN STRANGER IN THE NOVELS OF HARUKI MURAKAMI: A WILD SHEEP CHASE, HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD, AND THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE by JASON B. BARONE Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the degree of Master of Arts Department of English CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May 2008 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of _____________________________________________________ candidate for the ______________________degree *. (signed)_______________________________________________ (chair of the committee) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) _______________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................2 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................4 Chapter One: A Wild Sheep Chase .....................................................................................14 Chapter Two: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World ..................................39 Chapter Three: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle ....................................................................66 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................93 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................97 2 The Search for the Jungian Stranger in the Novels of Haruki Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Abstract by JASON B. BARONE Haruki Murakami’s novels are characterized by a struggle between the conscious and unconscious regions of the mind, with his protagonists maneuvering between the two worlds and seeking a way to bridge the gap. Haunted by memories, dreams, and visions, they must determine the correct route to understanding their hidden, unknown selves. The protagonists move in a gradual progression from the physical, conscious world (marked by a perplexing mystery) to that of the unconscious (the source of their sense of loss and desire)—and then back again, to the real world. The novels end with a temporary sense of reconciliation between these realms. The “Jungian stranger” is a nebulous figure that resides within the subconscious mind of the Murakami protagonist. Based on Jung’s observation that “within each one of us there is another whom we do not know” (Psychological Reflections 67), the stranger draws the protagonist more deeply into the novel’s mystery so that he can gain the knowledge and ability he needs to overcome his real-life problems. Whether the stranger initiates the quest via the perplexing identity of an odd-looking sheep, the unexpected gift of an apparent unicorn skull, or the futile search for a missing cat, the seemingly 3 innocuous and ordinary are often Murakami’s portal into something deeper, darker, and more dangerous—yet potentially transcendental. This paper analyzes the Murakami protagonist’s psychological journey towards the Jungian stranger in the novels A Wild Sheep Chase, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. He begins as a detached, bemused observer, unable to initiate any passionate involvement with his world. His attitude changes as various characters force or lure him towards a mysterious goal, one that is somehow linked to his vague sense of disquiet. His dilemma is caused by the rift between his conscious and subconscious selves; the only way to resolve his situation is to link them together. This Jungian process is accomplished as the protagonist, guided by other characters, moves through four psychological stages (awareness, encouragement, identification, and fulfillment) in which he sheds his passivity, confronts the Jungian stranger, and acquires self-knowledge. 4 INTRODUCTION The subconscious is very important to me as a writer. I don't read much Jung, but what he writes has some similarity with my writing. To me, the subconscious is terra incognita. I don't want to analyze it, but Jung and those people, psychiatrists, are always analyzing dreams and the significance of everything. I don't want to do that. I just take it as a whole. Maybe that's kind of weird, but I'm feeling like I can do the right thing with that weirdness. Sometimes it's very dangerous to handle that. (Murakami, qtd. in Miller) Based on these comments, Haruki Murakami dislikes analysis of his work, which is one of the reasons for his well-known reclusiveness and the scarcity of his interviews. Yet his mention of Jung is telling, for it acknowledges the indirect influence that Jung’s research has had on his writing. Murakami’s novels are characterized by a struggle between the conscious and unconscious regions of the mind, with his protagonists maneuvering between the two worlds and seeking a way to bridge the gap. Haunted by memories, dreams, and visions, they must determine the correct route to understanding their hidden, unknown selves. The protagonists move in a gradual progression from the physical, conscious world (marked by a perplexing mystery) to that of the unconscious (the source of their sense of loss and desire)—and then back again, to the real world. The novels end with a temporary sense of reconciliation between these realms; such hope is always uncertain but increases as the novels progress. Matthew Strecher, a Murakami scholar, explains that Murakami presents the mind as “as a uniformly coded division between the world of the light and that of the dark, the latter corresponding to the unconscious realm,” which is depicted as “dark, cold, and lifeless, [sometimes] only symbolized, other times … real” (“Magical Realism” 270). 5 In the subconscious lie the Murakami protagonist’s fears, doubts, and desires. The novels A Wild Sheep Chase, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle begin with the protagonist as a detached, bemused observer, unable to initiate any passionate involvement with his world. His mood begins to change, however, as a vague, puzzled awareness of his deficiencies casts a shadow over his tranquility. This feeling coincides with the emergence of a real problem. An odd assortment of characters enters his life to force or lure him towards a mysterious goal, one that is somehow linked to his emerging disquiet. Without these peripheral characters (with women taking on increasingly stronger, more important roles as the novels progress), he can neither break into his subconscious nor take action in the physical world to bring about the necessary change. His dilemma is caused by the rift between these opposing sides of reality, and in order to make his Self complete, he must link them. As one critic observes, the protagonist is much like “a detective, but the crime has somehow happened within himself” (Thompson, “Nobel Prize Winner in Waiting?”). Jung described the protagonist’s process of unifying his Self as “individuation,” but before it can be explored more fully, we must first examine, in Jungian terms, what the Self is. As Jungian analyst Anthony Stevens explains, Jung and his colleagues discovered that the hallucinations and traumatic memories they witnessed in their patients “contained motifs and images that also occurred in myths, religions, and fairy tales from all over the world” (75). The significance of these universal motifs, Stevens writes, “is comparable to that of gravity for Newtonian physics, relativity for Einsteinian physics, or natural selection for Darwinian biology” (ibid.). Known as the Jungian archetypes, of which the Self is one of the most prominent, they originate from the unknown, 6 subconscious region of the mind and provide the hidden meaning behind dreams. The Self archetype extends far beyond the unconscious, however. As Jung describes, it is “the totality of the psyche ... not only the centre, but also the whole circumference which embraces both conscious and unconscious; it is the centre of this totality, just as the ego is the centre of consciousness” (qtd. in Colman 157). Jung claimed that this totality is “far more comprehensive” than Freud’s ego (Psychological Types 33). In simpler terms, the Self comprises both what we normally perceive as the real, physical world and that of visions, memories, and dreams. The Murakami protagonist seeks to reconcile these two realms by seeking out what I will refer to as the “Jungian stranger.” The Jungian stranger is an entity who occupies the “centre” depicted in Jung’s description. The basis for this hidden and shadowy figure is the following excerpt from Psychological Reflections: Within each one of us there is another whom we do not know. He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from how we see ourselves. When, therefore, we find ourselves in a difficult situation, to which there is no solution, he can sometimes kindle a light that radically alters our attitude, the very attitude that led us into the difficult situation. (Psychological Reflections 67) As