Petrification as a Manifestation of Jung’s Collective Unconscious
Faculty Mentor
Garry Kenney
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 11:20 AM
Location
PUB 319
Primary Discipline of Presentation
English
Abstract
Popularized by the serpentine Medusa, the theme of petrification is common in myths, fairy tales, and legends across the globe. In this paper, I argue that Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconsciousness may explain petrification’s prevalence through the existence of a Petrified Being archetype. Accordingly, I examined how a Greek myth, a Catalan fairy tale, an Irish legend, and an Indonesian folktale depict petrification. After summary and analysis of each story, I identified similarities between them to suggest possible criteria for a Petrified Being. Following this discussion, I compared two examples of petrification from children’s literature to the similarities found in the previous stories, illustrating how the concept of a Petrified Being has persisted throughout time.
Recommended Citation
Wong, Myla, "Petrification as a Manifestation of Jung’s Collective Unconscious" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 6.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o2_2026/6
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Petrification as a Manifestation of Jung’s Collective Unconscious
PUB 319
Popularized by the serpentine Medusa, the theme of petrification is common in myths, fairy tales, and legends across the globe. In this paper, I argue that Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconsciousness may explain petrification’s prevalence through the existence of a Petrified Being archetype. Accordingly, I examined how a Greek myth, a Catalan fairy tale, an Irish legend, and an Indonesian folktale depict petrification. After summary and analysis of each story, I identified similarities between them to suggest possible criteria for a Petrified Being. Following this discussion, I compared two examples of petrification from children’s literature to the similarities found in the previous stories, illustrating how the concept of a Petrified Being has persisted throughout time.
