A Psychedelic Reading of Judith Thompson’s Lion in the Street

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor, Department of English Faculty of Arts, Cairo

Abstract

The paper aims to trace some features of Psychedelic art, as a form of visual art in Judith Thompson’s play Lion in the Street (1990). These characteristics are explored against the backdrop of C. G. Jung’s theory of Individuation.
Psychedelic art corresponds to the analysis of the play as it explores the thoughts about personalized perceptions and tries to reflect them. In other words, it is a way to externalize the internal feelings stored in the unconscious.
The core of Jungian theory is “to experience the unconscious with its vital imagery, affective power and strong spiritual quality” (Martin, p. 257). The purpose of Jung’s Individuation process is to increase the individual’s consciousness to heal the splits between the conscious and the unconscious, bringing them to wholeness to overcome the trauma of the individual’s psyche. The three stages of Individuation: Personal Unconscious, Shadow (Anima/Animus), and Self, are employed to analyze the characters process of moving from the unconscious to the conscious to reach a new realm of consciousness that boosts wholeness and freedom.
Judith Thompson (1954- ) is a renow

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