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Lawyers and Literature Shadow: I adopt the term "shadow" from C.G. Jung, who used the term in conjunction with another term, "persona." Briefly, and oversimplifying, Jung used "persona" to mean the face or facade that we hold out to the world. The "persona" is that version of the self, the image or picture of the self, that we want, expect, and demand that others see. The "shadow" is that part of the self that we do not expect or want or allow others to see. The "shadow" consists of all that is hidden and held away from view, all that is secret and behind closed doors. We certainly don't want others (in most day-to-day situations, and, certainly not in our professional lives) to see our faults and failings, doubts and confusions, and we most certainly don't expect the world to have access to our fantasies and imaginings (or even that we have them). So, there is much that we hide from the world as persons, and if our social and cultural psychology works anything like Jung's description of the self, we might expect a social and cultural institution like the practice of law to harbor a pronounced "shadow."
Illuminating the Shadow: An Interview with Connie Zweig
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