Abstract
The article proposes a discussion on the role of images in different psychological theories from a reading of the novel The Days of Abandonment, by Elena Ferrante. The mythical and mundane aspects of the figure of the “poor thing” [la poverella] as it appears in the text are approached in their ambivalence, considering both the pertinence of a classical psychoanalytic approach and the adequacy of C. G. Jung's theory of archetypes to understand the phenomenon in the context of the narrative. The article then projects the archetypal psychology of James Hillman, Patricia Berry, and Rafael López-Pedraza as the most appropriate theoretical reference for the analysis, recognizing transpersonal dimension of the image, but without submitting it to a structuralist interpretation.
Keywords:
Elena Ferrante; archetypal psychology; James Hillman; C. G. Jung