Abstract

This paper will help situate Neil Jordan's film In Dreams as a study of the mythology of the self. Through psychoanalytical theories, the film will be situated within mythology's conceptual threefold monomyth based on Joseph Campbell's philosophy. A study of fairy tale's important Jungian archetypes and symbols will create a link with the mythological heroic quest and the collective unconscious. This will establish and solidify the film's psychological exploration of the psyche. Finally, through the examination of consequential gothic paraphernalia, the apex of full self-realization will be gained. This paper shall demonstrate that In Dreams is a film about the process of individuation, of self integration and realization. It is a film about the search and the finding of the self, through the pressures of the ego, the superego and the id. It is a film about experiencing the unconscious consciously and about reaching psychological and psychical apotheosis.