Scholarlink

<p>The article explores the <i>Trickster</i> as a symbol of liminality, transgression, and creativity, analyzing its characteristics through mythology, folklore, and literature. The Trickster (a prankster and a “boundary-crosser”) embodies ambiguity, deception, and hidden wisdom, operating at the intersection of order and disorder, of sacred and profane. Through myths such as that of Hermes, as well as the tales of fools, jesters, and clowns, the Trickster is portrayed as an agent of transformation, subversion, and innovation. It subverts social and cultural categories through play, irony, hyper-sexualization, and the absence of shame. Turner’s theory of liminality and Freud’s notion of the uncanny are compared to highlight how the Trickster traverses both psychosocial thresholds and the boundaries between consciousness and the repressed—generating ambiguity, anxiety, and estrangement. The Trickster’s archetypal function, as elaborated by Jung, is expressed as both a collective and personal shadow—a symbol of productive chaos and unconscious creativity. This figure proves essential for understanding processes of cultural and psychic change, acting as a catalyst for innovation and symbolic renewal. This article emphasizes the importance of the Trickster as a symbol of psychic and collective processes of innovative adaptation, creativity, and transformation. But at the same time, the Trickster points to the associated risks of disorientation, unease, subversion and suffering. Through this ambivalence, the Trickster provides insights for interdisciplinary inquiry across cultural psychology, anthropology, and psychoanalysis.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Figures of Liminality and Transgressors of Limits and Borders: the Trickster, the Uncanny, and the Spiritus Mercurius. A Dialogue between Anthropology, Cultural Psychology and Psychoanalysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月3日

查看全文
  • Raffaele De Luca Picione,
  • Angelo Maria De Fortuna,
  • Lorenzo Curti,
  • Paul Stenner

摘要

The article explores the Trickster as a symbol of liminality, transgression, and creativity, analyzing its characteristics through mythology, folklore, and literature. The Trickster (a prankster and a “boundary-crosser”) embodies ambiguity, deception, and hidden wisdom, operating at the intersection of order and disorder, of sacred and profane. Through myths such as that of Hermes, as well as the tales of fools, jesters, and clowns, the Trickster is portrayed as an agent of transformation, subversion, and innovation. It subverts social and cultural categories through play, irony, hyper-sexualization, and the absence of shame. Turner’s theory of liminality and Freud’s notion of the uncanny are compared to highlight how the Trickster traverses both psychosocial thresholds and the boundaries between consciousness and the repressed—generating ambiguity, anxiety, and estrangement. The Trickster’s archetypal function, as elaborated by Jung, is expressed as both a collective and personal shadow—a symbol of productive chaos and unconscious creativity. This figure proves essential for understanding processes of cultural and psychic change, acting as a catalyst for innovation and symbolic renewal. This article emphasizes the importance of the Trickster as a symbol of psychic and collective processes of innovative adaptation, creativity, and transformation. But at the same time, the Trickster points to the associated risks of disorientation, unease, subversion and suffering. Through this ambivalence, the Trickster provides insights for interdisciplinary inquiry across cultural psychology, anthropology, and psychoanalysis.