Exploring Casablanca Through
Jungian Lenses
The genre of
romance, be it in literature or film, is one that has been much maligned an
ostracized by critics. It is not difficult to understand why, for the majority
of these stories feature formulaic plot devices that become repetitively
predictable, thus detracting from one’s enjoyment of the tale. Few realize
though, that these repeating motifs hold much greater significance to the meaning of stories than
merely chauffeuring the plot to the traditional happy ending often seen in
popular romance. Northrop Fry states “…even the most contrived and naïve
romantic plot, even the most impossibly black and white characterization, may
still give us technical insight into the way stories get told” (pg 38). Because these devices are so
commonplace, one can utilize them in significant ways that imbue the story with
meaning. A perfect example of this type of formulaic implementation can be seen
in the classic romantic film Casablanca. Although many plot devices typical
of popular romance can be seen in this movie, Casablanca rises above the
genre because it alters these commonplace blueprints in inventive ways. The film
features a protagonist whose complicated psychology allows the movie to venture
into significantly interesting directions, and because of this, allows for a
nuanced analysis of the hero and the surrounding characters. By applying Carl
Jung’s psychological theory of archetypes to Casablanca’s main character
Rick, one can see how the film employs traditional romantic devices in a
fashion atypical to the critically disparaged romance.
Carl
Jung’s used his theory of archetypes in order to analyze dreams and gain a
deeper understanding of the human unconscious. His ideas can be applied to both
literature and film in order to analyze the protagonist, his journey, and the
agency behind his actions. All of Jung’s archetypes are manifested in Casablanca,
and by analyzing the characters as different aspects of Rick’s unconscious, the
film and its plot take on greater meaning.
The Shadow self is
the first of these archetypes, and often embodies little known aspects of the
hero. It is typically represented by a same sex character, and is often used to actualize the
darker aspects of the hero’s personality (Thury 479). Rick interacts with
multiple Shadow selves throughout the film that reveal the dark agencies acting
upon his inner psyche. The first of these is General Strasser, a Nazi official
who has come to Casablanca in order to detain the famous political activist and
rebel leader Victor Laszlo. Strasser functions as the main antagonist of the
film, and also represents the influence of the Third Reich. His uncomplicated
character seems driven solely by the need to capture Laszlo, and this lack of
nuance is typical of a romantic villain. Strasser reveals the dark influence
the Nazi regime has had on Rick’s psychological mindset. The beginning of the
film finds him deeply swayed by the influence of the Nazis, illustrated when he
watches one of his friends arrested and dragged out by officials without
attempting to help. “I stick my neck out for no one,” he states, before turning
away in seeming apathy. The second
of the Shadow selves he interacts with is Captain Louis Renault, who represents
the corrupted Vichy government. Renault is buffeted far more than Rick by the agency
of the Nazi regime, catering to Strasser’s every whim for the majority of the
film. “I have no side, I blow with the wind,” he states at an instance in the
movie, exemplifying the impact outside influence has on his actions. Fry
defines the true romantic hero as one that is “superior in degree to other men
and to his environment,” and Renault’s inability to rise above his surroundings
represents Rick’s greatest fault at the beginning of the story (33). He is
unable to completely resist the deterioration of morality around him, and thus,
at the advent of the film, does not fulfill the ideal romantic hero. By
analyzing these Shadow characters, one can see how Rick, while clearly the main
protagonist of the film, does not ideally embody the heroic tradition one sees
in romance.
The next of Jung’s
archetypes is the Anima, a figure usually represented by a member of the
opposite sex. The Anima is “personification of all feminine psychological
tendencies in a man’s psyche,” and can be seen in two different females
throughout the duration of Casablanca (Thury 479). The first of Rick’s Anima
selves seen in the movie is his meantime lover Yvonne, whom he treats with
little respect, and eventually rejects. She embodies a commonplace plot device
seen in many romances, the woman used as a distraction from the “true love”.
After she is spurned, Yvonne turns to drinking and eventually takes up with one
of the Nazi officials. Through her character, the viewer can see aspects of
Rick’s own experience reflected. Rick was also rejected, turned to drinking,
and allowed the enemy, in this case the German officials, to indulge in their
own agendas. At an instance in the film, the German officers began to loudly
sing their national anthem inside Rick’s bar, and the surrounding customers
rise in revolt, singing a rendition of "La
Marseillaise”. Yvonne leaver her German officer to join in singing with the
customers, symbolizing her rejection of the Nazi’s. She turned to the German
out of heartbreak, and her position as Rick’s Anima helps one understand that the
reason for Rick’s aloofness towards the Nazi cruelty around him is because he
suffers from heartbreak as well. Her rejection of the German foreshadows Rick’s
eventual turn away from cynicism to idealism. The second Animus self that
manifests in Casablanca is Rick’s true love Ilsa. Ilsa is a mysterious and
shadowy character, and the motivations behind her actions aren’t always clear.
Believing her husband Lazlo to be dead, she and Rick fall in love. Lazlo reappears,
fulfilling the apparent death plot device employed in many romantic tales, and
she leaves Rick stranded at a train station. Isla represents the idyllic past
Rick once lived in, and shots of them in Paris together juxtaposed against the morally
disintegrated Casablanca emphasize this.
Casablanca’s
ending is one of the main disparities between the film and the typical popular
romance. It’s devoid of the traditional happy ending, and the reason behind
this can be found in the manifestation of Jung’s final archetype, the Self. The
Self can only be seen when a character has undergone a process termed individuation.
This happens when the competing archetypes are accepted as part of a character’s collective psyche
(Thury 481). In the final scene of
the film, Rick and Ilsa are
prepared to take a plane escaping from Casablanca when Rick’s individuation
occurs. He sacrifices his place on the plane and his true love in order to save
Laszlo, realizing that his political connections and leadership are needed in
order to win the war for the Allies. Laszlo and Ilsa escape from Casablanca
unscathed as a result of Rick shooting the pursuing General Strasser. Rick’s sacrifice
and subsequent actions represent the union of all his archetypes. The consolidation
between his Anima and Shadow selves allows Rick to kill General Strasser in
order to sacrifice himself for a higher purpose, completing the process of
individuation. The conclusion of Casablanca finds Rick calm, and as a result of
his Self finally manifesting, able to begin life over free from the shadow of
heartbreak that had corrupted him. Although Rick does not get the girl, he
rises above his morally vapid surrounding this realizing his place as a true
romantic hero.
Although
Casablanca employs many plot devices typical of romance tales, it utilizes these
formulas in a meaningful fashion, causing the film to rise above the perceived vapidity
of the genre. The individuation of Rick allows the story to end
untraditionally, yet enables the film to produce a hero worthy of the romantic
genre. Through the analytical lenses of Jung’s archetypes, one can see how
critically scorned romantic formulas can be altered to produce a classic filmed
steeped in significance, beloved by critics and audiences alike.
Work Cited
Casablanca.
Prod. Jack L. Warner. By Julius J. Epstein. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid
Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter
Lorre, S. Z. Sakall, Dooley Wilson, John Qualen, Leonid Kinskey, Curt Bois,
Helmut Dantine, Marcel Dalio, Ludwig Stossel, Frank Puglia, and Dan Seymour.
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., 1942.
Thury, Eva M. and Margaret K.
Devinney. Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical
and World Myths. New York: Oxford University Press. 2009
