Date of Defense
1988
Department
Gender and Women's Studies
Abstract
Psychic penetration and assimilation is a violation of the psychological boundaries of an individual which disrupts her/his autonomy and individuation process. It is marked by an attitude of dominance and authority, a desire to over-rule, control and imbue the recipient with a blue-print of the penetrator's thought patterns. This imbuing creates a violation when it has at its base the belief that the individual being psychologically penetrated is in some way incomplete or inferior in her/his given state, and must be changed, molded, and psychologically recreated to acceptably fit into the psychological frame-work of the individual(s) assuming a dominant stance. In this way, the individual being psychically penetrated is assimilated, and rather than achieving individuation becomes a psychological extension of the penetrator/assimilator. The result is psychological enmeshment, with imperceptible psychological boundaries.
Recommended Citation
Leland, Brett, "The Feminine Archetype and Psychich Penetration and Assimilation in the Creation Myth of Zeus and Athena, Homer's "Odyssey," and Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"" (1988). Honors Theses. 1331.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/1331
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only