A Glimpse Behind the Mask: Analytical Psychology in Joyce Carol Oates’s

“In the Region of Ice”

“In the Region of Ice” presents a person’s struggle to maintain her social mask – that of a
nun – in a time when previously unconscious desires are awakened in her upon meeting a person
seemingly her complete opposite but at the same time she empathize with. Using Carl Jung’s
Analytical Psychology, this paper aims to take a glimpse behind Sister Irene’s mask and her
struggle against completely removing it.

A person’s psyche or personality is made up of opposite and complex but related and
interacting subparts. It is formed through the interaction of the conscious and unconscious which
produces the self, “the fully integrated, fully functioning personality” (Smith & Vetter, 1991) The
psyche has three major parts, the conscious, personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious.
Within the conscious belongs the persona or the social mask. It is the role a person takes in the
society because of social pressure and conformity. Additionally, it is also advantageous in
simplifying a person’s contact with others because of the already formed expectations as to what
one will give and what one will get according to their roles.

Sister Irene’s role in the society is a nun who teaches in a university. Although she looks
confident and stern, she is troubled by the world outside the classroom. She is uncomfortable with
her colleagues and students, and by the “looks she got that told her nothing much would be
expected of her because she was a nun.” But inside the classroom, she wears her mask so well, “a
figure existing only for the benefit of others, an instrument by which the facts were
communicated.”

The persona is developed when a child, while growing up, makes compromises between
personal desires and the demands of the society. In the story, Sister Irene developed a strong
persona because, according to her, her parents have been weak. She had seen and experienced
hardships when she was young and so she desired to become strong and independent which is also
what is required of her as a nun.
 Although Sister Irene tried to maintain her self-possession, Allen Weinstein came to her
class one day. There was something about him that was different from her other students. He acted
familiar with her and pleaded her to take him in her class for he found her and her class interesting
unlike the other teachers and classes in the university. Though he appeared rude, “Sister Irene felt
something nudging her, some uneasiness in him that was pleading with her not to be offended by
his abrupt, familiar manner.” Sister Irene felt sympathetic towards him, “sympathetic with
something about him.” This could mean that Sister Irene found some parts of herself in him which
attracted her towards him. She even thought of him as having a “mind that could appreciate her
own.” However, this thought also terrified her. She felt that he was trying to “force her into a
human relationship… a relationship she was not ready for.” As a nun, Sister Irene should have had
let go of worldly desires, but meeting Weinstein made her realize the darker side of her persona,
her shadow.

Jung said that humans have inherited a functional disposition to produce similar universal
thoughts which are called “archetypes”. One of these archetypes is the shadow. The shadow which
is part of a person’s unconscious, “contains all of the primitive, uncontrolled, and instinctual parts
of our personality that we try to deny exist within us.” The shadow is suppressed because it
contains emotions, impulses, and desires which are unacceptable to the society. Although common
to all people, the shadow is usually denied because people would like to protect their persona or
social mask. A person then becomes conflicted and problems in the personality arise when
elements of the unconscious, such as the shadow, force their way into consciousness.

Sister Irene’s shadow is her realization that she was not completely happy with her life.
Although she chose to become a nun, she suddenly felt out of place and lonely which she also saw
in Weinstein. However, he was able to say what was in his mind and express his discontent in life
which she couldn’t do. Sister Irene kept on thinking about him but she still tried to repress her
feelings by reminding herself that she is a nun and has a responsibility to her vocation. If Sister
Irene remained strong-willed, Weinstein became mentally unstable. This has already been
observed by Sister Irene the first time they met which only strengthened her desire to help him
because she knew that she also had the tendency to become like him. He was intelligent and
promising but he was lonely and suffering. She understood him and what he was going through
and with this she knew that his life was difficult. This could also be the reason why Sister Irene
strengthened her resolve to not fully succumb to her shadow for she had to remain strong for the
both of them.

Introversion and extroversion are the other concepts under analytical psychology which are
types of a person’s attitude and are also part of one’s consciousness and unconsciousness. The
introvert which is interested in subjective intuitions and feelings while the extrovert which is
concerned with sensations and thinking. Though the two are both existing within a person’s
personality, one may tend to become superior which will lie in the consciousness and the other
inferior which will become part of the unconscious (Smith & Vetter, 1991). Sister Irene may seem
to be the extrovert one because she liked to rationalize. When she became sad because Weinstein
didn’t attend her class, she made herself think that it was because she was concerned for him as a
teacher and not as a woman. If the reason for her loneliness was the latter, then it would have been
illogical for she was a nun. Weinstein is the introvert because he was emotional to the point that
he was hysterical and illogical. He protested against the world of education and the established
society of his parents. According to Sister Irene, he believed ideas are real, but the nun rationalized
that only reality is real. And then, because Sister Irene’s psyche was shaken by Weinstein’s arrival,
her introvert attitude started to manifest. She even went and talked to his parents to convince them
to help him, something that wouldn’t have been expected of her even though she was a nun.
However, in the end, she still wasn’t able to help him. She became terrified of him because she
could completely understand what was going on inside his mind and to maintain her sanity, she
just had to let go of him.

The story ended with Weinstein committing suicide and Sister Irene having accepted that
she couldn’t have done anything for him despite what she had felt. It is narrated towards the end,
“Sister Irene could feel a part of herself drifting off... But she called that part of herself back. She
could only be one person in her lifetime. That was the ugly truth, she thought, that she could not
really regret Weinstein’s suffering and death; she had only one life and had already given it to
someone else. He had come too late to her…” With this, it is clear that her rationality remained
dominant and that she didn’t let go of her social mask. She continued and resolved to wearing it
until the end because if one will force to take his or her mask off, that person could turn into
another Weinstein, confused, lonely, and sick for the society or the outside world may not be
understanding or tolerant.

Analyzing the characters through psychology has been helpful in understanding what they
have been going through. They exemplified the personality theories of analytical psychology and
demonstrated the importance of the social mask and the consequences of the manifestations and
not repressing unconscious desires. Having a social mask is something natural and innate to
everyone. We are all wearing one. It protects us from the prying eyes and criticisms of the society
and makes our lives easier because it would help us attain expectations and get proper responses
from others. However, it is also inevitable that parts of the unconscious will come out especially
when triggered by uncontrollable events and experiences. This could make or break a person,
depending on how strong his or her will and self-control is.

Reference:

Smith, B. D., & Vetter, H. J. (1991). Analytical Psychology. In B. D. Smith, & H. J. Vetter, Theories of
Personality (pp. 95-116). New Jersy: Prentice Hall, Inc.