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self (Barentsen). Here, the personal unconscious is the union of the collective unconscious, or all
the elements that are inside an individual since their birth, and the persona, the part of the self that
comes from reason and adaptation (Barentsen).

For understanding Jung’s studies of the self and its parts of the psyche, the readers need,
also, to understand his concept of the archetype which he used for creating his studies. The idea of
archetypes is taken from an old Platonic conviction that universal mythological characters reside in
the collective unconscious and represent the human’s motif for growing and achieving the
individuation (Yetwin). So, one is guided by those archetypes all their lives, making them believe
first in something that may not be real, then, in the end, making them understand their true reality
(Yetwin). These archetypes are divided by Jung into three different parts: ego, self, and soul. Each
person has inside a dominant archetype that needs a self-examination to be identified (Yetwin).
Furthermore, the conscious ego, according to Jung, is the subject of consciousness that has nothing
to do with the unconscious part of the mind (Schmidt 4). This distinction is important because the
ego “acts as if it wants to remain in control, to expand and promote itself at the expense of other
aspects of the personality,” trying to prevent one from reaching individuation (Schmidt 4). In The
School for Good and Evil, Sophie is the representation of Jung’s ideas, being guided by her ego that
controls her actions and convictions.

Through Jung’s studies, readers can understand better the personality of one of Chainani’s
main characters. The character of Sophie in The School for Good and Evil is a very interesting one.
She is described as pretty, with long blond hair, and she is always making sure to appear perfect and
beautiful. She is convinced that she will be selected for the school for Good and her only desire in
life is making her fairy tale come true, trying to make a prince marry her. But when she is selected
for the school of Evil, she cannot believe it, and she firmly thinks that it is all a mistake. Through a
careful analysis of her behaviors and actions, it can be said that Sophie needs to understand who she
really is to be able to find her individuation. In fact, Carl Jung’s studies of individuation can be seen
through Sophie and her struggling in finding her place in the new world in which she has been

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