The Theatre
The stage of the dream
The inner drama, and the seat of the one who watches it.
The Theatre: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
In “On the Nature of Dreams” (1945) Jung described the dream as a drama in four acts: the exposition of place and persons, the development of the plot, the culmination or turn, and the lysis, the solution.
In active imagination, he warned, it is not enough to watch the play from the stalls: one must step onto the stage, or nothing changes.
The Theatre: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
Tragedy, born from the festival of Dionysus; the masks of the actors; the mystery plays; Giulio Camillo’s memory theatre.
From the Sources
Jung suggests that the theatre may be regarded as an institution for treating the mass complex, and that the enjoyment of comedy comes from an unreserved identification of one's own complexes with the play.
“From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any esthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex. The enjoyment of the comedy, or of the dramatic plot ending happily is produced by an unreserved identification of one's own complexes with the play.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part I, Chapter II, "The Miller Phantasies". Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. The text, read in part
Jaques says that all the world's a stage and all men and women merely players, with their exits and entrances, one man in his time playing many parts.
“All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.”
William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII. Project Gutenberg eBook #1523. The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Where to Read
- “On the Nature of Dreams,” CW 8
- Mysterium Coniunctionis, CW 14
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
In the Glossary: Persona.
Also among Vessels and Enclosures
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Theatre.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/theatre.
Nearby in the alphabet: The Temple: The sacred precinct, set apart. The Temptation: The offer that tests who one is. The Theft of Fire: Stolen light, and the price of it. The Thread: The line of fate, and the way back out.