Each of us is like Dorian Gray. We seek to present a beautiful, innocent face to the world; a kind, courteous demeanor; a youthful, intelligent image.
And so, unknowingly but inevitably, we push away those qualities that do not fit the image, that do not enhance our self-esteem and make us stand proud but, instead, bring us shame and make us feel small.
We shove into the dark cavern of the unconscious those feelings that make us uneasy – hatred, rage, jealousy, greed, competition, lust, shame – and those behaviours that are deemed wrong by the culture – addiction, laziness, aggression, dependency – thereby creating what could be called shadow content.
Like Dorian’s painting, these qualities ultimately take on a life of their own, forming an invisible twin that lives just behind our life, or just beside it, but as distinct from the one we know as a stranger.
