BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: INTEGRATING THE SHADOW AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

The fairy tale Beauty and the Beast is among the most significant narratives of the Western tradition because it addresses themes related to love, psychological transformation, and personality development. From the perspective of Analytical Psychology, the story presents a rich symbolism associated with the archetype of the Shadow, a fundamental concept in Carl Gustav Jung’s theory. The relationship between Beauty and the Beast can be understood as a representation of the processes of recognizing, accepting, and integrating the rejected aspects of the psyche. This article aims to analyze the tale Beauty and the Beast through the concepts of Shadow, individuation, and the construction of affective bonds, drawing upon the contributions of Jung (2012, 2013, 2014), Von Franz (2002), Bettelheim (2013), and Zweig and Wolf (2000). The findings indicate that the narrative symbolically represents the need to confront unconscious contents in order to achieve more authentic and mature relationships. It is concluded that the story constitutes a metaphor for human emotional development, demonstrating that love requires the recognition of the vulnerabilities, limitations, and potentialities present within the personality.