Nicholas Urfe’s Individuation and Existential Development in The Magus by John Fowles

Abstract

This article attempts to establish a connection between Jungian analytical psychology and Albert Camus’s existentialism using the example of The Magus by John Fowles. The novel has already been analysed in the context of these theories separately (Ładuch 2022; Onega 1989). However, little has been said about the similarities between the two concepts and how Fowles’s narrative foregrounds them. Jung’s individuation is a process of acknowledging and exploring the archetypes, i.e., separate elements of the collective unconscious, while Camus’s philosophy deals primarily with the clash between the human urge for knowledge and the silence of the world. The article seeks to demonstrate that it is possible to depict a step-by-step personal development process from the writings of these authors and find similarities between them, especially with regard to their outcomes. Influenced by his experiences on Bourani, the protagonist of The Magus goes through individuation that blend elements of Jung’s and Camus’s visions. The “godgame” prepared for Nicholas by Maurice Conchis could be interpreted as both a realisation of the absurd and an opportunity to deal with archetypes. As a result of the experiment, the protagonist becomes authentic, starts to make an effort to maintain personal relationships, and establishes an individual moral code. Finally, the paper asserts that the process is circular, i.e., never-ending, and requires constant effort, which also corresponds with Jung’s and Camus’s frameworks.