The Significance of the Mandala Archetype in Intertidal Life
Audrey Thomas' novel Intertidal Life, is an account of a woman's struggle for Emmersonian self-reliance and identity. The main character, Alice Hoyle, is forced by her husband to undertake a perilous, painful, and chaotic journey into her subconscious, in order to find her "self". This struggle to obtain a new "self" identity and self-reliance is symbolized throughout the novel by the Jungian archetype of the Mandala; a circular image with a center that represents the: "wholeness of personality, [and] the center of the whole... It is the archetype of inner order; and it is always used in that sense, either to make arrangements of the many, many aspects of the universe-a world scheme-or to arrange the complicated aspects of our psyche into a scheme " (Psych,86). Therefore, in Intertidal Life, the Mandala is an archetype arising "when there is a great disorder and chaos in a [woman's] mind... It appears to bring order, showing the possibility of order and centeredness" (Psych,86)
Alice Hoyle first experiences chaos and despair when Peter admits to Alice that he no longer loves Alice, and he wants to seek out and find himself. She interprets that the move to the island was simply a tact to get Alice easily out of Peter's life. As Alice says,"It's so strange. I've felt so close to you these last few months. I saw the new room, the move over here as something wonderful, a new beginning to our marriage. I guess what I saw as a sunrise, you saw as a sunset" (20). Moreover, as Alice realizes that her husband, Peter is having an affair with Anne-Marie, and her worldly values and ambitions are tossed upside down, she encounters her first Mandala type dream:
one night, Alice had a dream of apples. She was holding Flora in her
arms and people were pelting at them both with fruit... She was calling
and calling for help (24).
In this dream, Alice is the focus of the center of attention, surrounded by people pelting her with apples. A schematic image is presented which is in the form of a Mandala.
Out of this dream, she comes to the realization for the first time, that "the other woman" in Peter's life is Anne-Marie (24). Thus, this Mandala represents, that she is unwanted by Peter, must find away to protect herself from her emotions, and she must seek help, in redefining her life.