Dina and the Great Mother: A Story Viewed through the Lens of Neumann’s The Great Mother

Abstract

The poetic novel, Dina's Book, and the exquisite film made from it, I am Dina, are reviewed in the light of the profound analysis of the feminine archetype that Erich Neumann undertakes in The Great Mother. The author demonstrates some of the many ways in which the feminine is depicted symbolically by Herbjorg Wassmo, author of the book and co-author of the screenplay, and he suggests that the depiction goes far beyond the individual’s story and into the archetypal realm. Thus, the feminine is seen not only as articulating aspects of womanhood but also as carrying the very basis of our psyches, the collective unconscious.