The Piano, the Animus, and the Colonial Experience

Focused principally on an analysis of Ada, the mute heroine of Jane Campion's The Piano , this article shows how post–Jungian animus theory illuminates that character's mysterious personality. In particular, Ann Ulanov's thoughts about animus development are connected with Demaris Wehr's observations concerning the internalization of social oppression in an argument that shows how, notwithstanding she is a woman, Ada is a product of colonial oppression. Her mythological antecedents are also considered, and are particularly marked in that she resembles the handless maiden in Marie–Louise von Franz's analysis of that fairy tale. In this context Ada's ultimate renunciation of her husband is symbolically reinforced by the developing personality of her daughter Flora. The changes in both characters can be seen as implying not only the rebirth of Ada's psyche but also the emergence of a new psychological readiness to throw off the colonial mantle.