The double archetype/soul figure is a concept drawn from the psychology of Carl Jung, the renown Swiss psychiatrist, researcher, and founder of Analytical Psychology, that refers to an inherited and unconscious set of characteristics surrounding a twin figure within the human psyche that plays a role in a person’s ego identification as male or female, is the source of inspiration and of “brotherly” or “sisterly” love, and for homosexual persons becomes the soul figure, the image of the soul, analogous and equal to the archetypes of anima and animus.[1] An archetype is a concept generally found in the areas of behavior, literary analysis, art, and psychology, and can refer to a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, or any constantly-recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, or mythology. As a psychological concept, archetypes refer to the innate psychic structures within the collective unconscious that essentially store the basic themes of human life upon which each individual builds his or her own personal experience of life.[2]
In his study of archetypes, Jung proposed that the unconscious mind is divided into two parts: the personal unconscious, named by Jung as the shadow and acquired through one’s individual experiences; and the collective unconscious, also called the archetypal psyche, a dynamic substratum that is universal and impersonal in nature, identical in all individuals, and consists of one’s inheritance of all of humanity’s collective experiences. These experiences are stored in the form of archetypes: pre-existent forms that contain original or prototypical patterns of ideas, thoughts, images, and behaviors. These prototypical patterns Jung called “inherited modes of psychic functioning” and are considered analogous to the instincts. Examples of some of the archetypes Jung focused on include anima/animus, the self, shadow, and persona. These inherited, universal patterns are thought to be the basis of many of the common themes and symbols that appear in stories, myths, religions, and dreams across different cultures and societies and time periods.[3]
Historical Background
One of the earliest uses of the term “double” in relation to human awareness was in the field of social philosophy in the form of the term “double-consciousness”, coined by W.E.B. Dubois in his book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903). This “twoness” he described as the dual awareness experienced by African-Americans because of their racialized oppression and disvaluation in a white-dominated society.[4] The double was first written about from a psychological perspective by Otto Rank (1926). Rank was the first to apply psychoanalytic theory to the double as it appeared in literature, through which he associated the double to primitive narcissism, fear of death, and the desire for immortality.[5]
Anima/Animus and Soul Psychology
Jung wrote about a soul psychology in which the soul figure for males was an ideal feminine that he named anima, and the soul figure for females was an ideal masculine, called animus. What is called “romantic love,” according to Jung, occurs when these contrasexual soul figures are projected onto the opposite sex beloved.[6] There continue to be differing views on how, or if, Jung’s ideas on anima/animus apply to transgender and nonbinary persons.[7][8][9] However, Jung never wrote about a soul psychology for homosexual persons.[10]
The Double Archetype as Soul Figure
The double archetype was first introduced as a soul figure for same-sex-loving persons in the Jungian journal Spring (1976) by psychologist Mitchell L. Walker.[6] For all individuals the double can serve as one’s inner “buddy”: a powerful helper, filled with magic, the source of inspiration, who assists in bringing out the best in an individual and helping one reach one’s potential. For gay men and lesbians, the double archetype, infused with homosexual eros, or life force energy, becomes the soul figure, equal in all respects and functions to anima/us, thus transforming the “inner buddy” to an “inner lover”.[1] The double, when coupled with one’s anima/us, forms a complementary and androgynous whole. In a man’s psyche, for example, the anima contains the archetypal images of mother, daughter, sister, lover; whereas, the male double contains those of father, son, brother, lover. A similar wholeness is formed in a woman’s psyche by the union of the female double and animus.[11]
Alternate View: Anima as Male
Another perspective on the soul figure for gay men proposes that anima may present as male at times and as female at other times. Since anima, for example, sometimes shows up in dreams as objects or in animal form, so it is argued that it can also present in male form as well. From this view, it is argued that archetypes should not be confined by human categories of gender, categories that are highly influenced by the patriarchal attitudes of society. The male anima in gay men, it is proposed, still serves all of the functions of anima as soul figure and is considered to be the symbolic representation of gay mens’ homosexuality.[12]
Examples of The Double in Mythology, Literature, and Film
The double has mythological examples, as in such hero-pairs as David and Jonathan, Achilles and Patroclus, and Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In the Iliad, it is only when Hector slays Achilles’ lover Patroclus that Achilles takes up arms for the Greeks against the Trojans. In the Bible, Jonathan’s love saves David from being slain by Saul. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, it is Enkidu’s love for Gilgamesh that transforms Gilgamesh into the benevolent King he was meant to be.[1][11][13] The double also appears in literature, such as in The Prince and The Pauper, in which the plot revolves around the fates of two identical twin boys; in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the fates and affections of Huck and Jim, the black slave, are intertwined on their journey towards freedom on the great river; in Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings books, it is the love and devotion of Sam for Frodo that enables Frodo to complete his epic task and save all of Middle Earth, with Tolkien’s books also depicting the loving double companionship between hobbits Merry and Pippin that propels each to new heights of heroism, as well as the growing affection between the elf Legolas and the dwarf Gimli that breaks down the cultural bigotry between them.[1][13] In films we can witness the double in a variety of configurations, such as in ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, in which the relationship between the human boy Elliot and the alien ET leads to a deeply bonding transformation for them both, or in the Star Wars saga between pairs of Jedi knights, such as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode I) and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (Episodes II and III), as well as with actual twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa (Episodes 4, 5, 6), in each case the two propel each other to reach their potential.[13]
Variations of The Double
The double does not always present as a twin image for an individual, with the same age, experience, and maturity. Instead, the double can be present as archetypal partners, such as in the “youth-adult” variation, in which the the mature adult may serve as a mentor, teacher, or initiator of the youth. The youth-adult configuration can be seen historically, as in Ancient Greece, where it was referred to as “paederastia” and was widely institutionalized in their culture.[1][6] In literature, the youth-adult has been represented with such figures as Frodo and Gandalf in Tolkien’s Fellowship of The Ring in which Gandalf inspires Frodo to take up his heroic quest, and in films, such as Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode IV, V, VI), and Luke Skywalker and Yoda (Episodes V, VI), in both of which Luke is inspired to become a Jedi Knight and mentored to reach his potential.[13]
Dark Aspects of The Double
Similar to all archetypes, the double also has darker aspects, such as that of the competitor, which strives to supplant rather than enhance the ego, and so presents a challenge to overcome; the puer aeternis, the eternal youth, in which one could become trapped by the seductive power of youth, resulting in psychic immaturity; or the wise adult figure could shade into the cynical senex (or crone). The double, being a same-sex figure within the psyche, can also facilitate a tendency toward homosexual expression and so could be rejected by the ego, resulting in its falling into the unconscious or shadow personality.[1][6]
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1. Walker, Mitchell L. (1976). The Double: An Archetypal Configuration (PDF). Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture: 165–175.
2. Edinger, Edward (1972). Ego and Archetype. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications. p. 3. ISBN 0-87773-576-X.
3. Papadopoulos, Ed., Renos (2006). The Handbook of Jungian Psychology. Routledge. pp. 66–67. ISBN 1-58391-148-0.
4. Pittman, John P. (2024). Double Consciousness. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.). {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
5. Tucker, Jr., Ed., Translator, Harry (1971). Double: A Psychoanalytic Study. The University of North Carolina Press. pp. xiv-xvi (introduction). ISBN 0-8078-1155-6. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
6. Hopcke, Robert (1989). Jung, Jungians & Homosexuality. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications. pp. 116–118. ISBN 0-87773-472-0.
7. Molay, Jack (August 27, 2012). The Other Side of Your Transgender Soul. Crossdreamers.
8. Downs, Myles (June 1997). Transgenderism and the Archetype of the Androgyne. Myles Downs, LMFT.
9. McKenzie, Susan (July 2006). Queering Gender: Anima/Animus and the Paradigm of Emergence. Researchgate.net.
10. Walker, Mitchell L. (1991). Jung and Homophobia (PDF). Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture. 51: 55–70.
11. Sellner, Edward C. (2013). Male Eros, Friendships, and Mentoring: From Gilgamesh to Kerouac. Maple Shade, NJ: Lethe Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 1-59021-314-9.
12. Hopcke, Robert (1990). Men’s Dreams, Men’s Healing. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications. p. 127. ISBN 0-87773-561-1.
13. Kaufman, Roger (2006). How the Star Wars Saga Evokes the Creative Promise of Homosexual Love: A Gay-Centered Psychological Perspective (Finding the Force of the Star Wars Franchise: Fans, Merchandise and Critics, ed.). New York: Peter Lang Publishers.