Figures of Liminality and Transgressors of Limits and Borders: the Trickster, the Uncanny, and the Spiritus Mercurius. A Dialogue between Anthropology, Cultural Psychology and Psychoanalysis.

Summary

The Trickster figure, found in myths, folklore, and literature, symbolizes liminality, transgression, and creativity. Operating at the boundaries of order and disorder, sacred and profane, the Trickster embodies ambiguity, deception, and hidden wisdom. Through myths like that of Hermes and tales of fools and jesters, the Trickster acts as an agent of transformation, subversion, and innovation, subverting social categories through play, irony, and hyper-sexualization. The article compares Turner's theory of liminality and Freud's notion of the uncanny to show how the Trickster traverses psychosocial thresholds and boundaries between consciousness and the repressed, generating ambiguity and anxiety.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article explores the Trickster as a symbol of liminality, transgression, and creativity, analyzing its characteristics through mythology, folklore, and literature. The Trickster (a prankster and a "boundary-crosser") embodies ambiguity, deception, and hidden wisdom, operating at the intersection of order and disorder, of sacred and profane. Through myths such as that of Hermes, as well as the tales of fools, jesters, and clowns, the Trickster is portrayed as an agent of transformation, subversion, and innovation. It subverts social and cultural categories through play, irony, hyper-sexualization, and the absence of shame. Turner's theory of liminality and Freud's notion of the uncanny are compared to highlight how the Trickster traverses both psychosocial thresholds and the boundaries between consciousness and the repressed-generating ambiguity, anxiety, and estrangement. The Trickster's archetypal function, as elaborated by Jung, is expressed as both a collective and personal shadow-a symbol of productive chaos and unconscious creativity. This figure proves essential for understanding processes of cultural and psychic change, acting as a catalyst for innovation and symbolic renewal. This article emphasizes the importance of the Trickster as a symbol of psychic and collective processes of innovative adaptation, creativity, and transformation. But at the same time, the Trickster points to the associated risks of disorientation, unease, subversion and suffering. Through this ambivalence, the Trickster provides insights for interdisciplinary inquiry across cultural psychology, anthropology, and psychoanalysis.