Crossing towards individuation : colours and numbers in the iron man by Ted Hughes

Abstract EN

dynamics” of the myth of Saint George and the dragon.

Hughes believed that this neurosis was caused by Christianity’s insistence on ousting the devil from its dogma.

Through The Iron Man.

Hughes aimed to teach children that exploring and expressing the dark side of nature was necessary for achieving a whole and healthy life.

Attaining wholeness through a process called “individuation” can be achieved through an arduous journey that occurs in the outside world as well as in one’s inner world of thoughts and emotions.

This necessarily involves recognizing and accepting the demonic side of nature.

Hughes was primarily concerned with this inner world, and how it could be healed through imaginative storytelling.

This paper aims to examine the use of colours and numbers as archetypes that work together to form a story that demonstrates how the process of individuation takes place at a symbolic level in The Iron Man.

By employing the theories of Carl Jung, Ann Dobie and Carol Pearson on archetypal patterns within colours and numbers, as well as the tools provided by the Jewish system of Kabbalah, this paper will show that Hughes’ use of colour and number coding to tell an archetypal story within a story served as a healer for both children and adults.