Synopsis: Lt. Dax is confronted by the memories of a host to the Dax symbiont that had been clinically removed.
In my blog for the last episode “The House of Quark” I wrote how it can be seen as an illustration of the concept that Carl (C. G.) Jung called the union of opposites, or the transcendent function. In analytical psychology, this is the integration of bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious into the Logos-driven rational conscious ego. This episode is more specific in that the bits of unconscious material that are coming into the awareness of the conscious ego are those from the shadow of the personal unconscious.
In “Equilibrium” Lt. Jadzia Dax is already the physical manifestation of a union of opposites, that of the Trill host to a symbiont being. However, what is happening to her is rather unique. Much as Starfleet trains and tests its cadets so that they will become officers that uphold its creed and way of life, the Symbiosis Commission on Trill tests and trains initiates to become acceptable hosts for the symbiont beings. This is because both organizations are operating from the rational perspective of encouraging only the best and most qualified, including emotionally stable, candidates. This reflects a patriarchal monotheistic ideal of perfection of the soul and suppression of those elements of the psyche that are considered undesirable.
Here Dax is experiencing something more akin to what Jung would call a complex. A complex is a vital part of the process of integrating bits of unconscious material, shadow and otherwise, into the conscious ego. And while in a culture privileging the “good” above other attributes, as here, when undesirable traits are suppressed, they pop up at inopportune times. Much like a Freudian Slip. But complexes are not negative if looked at as an opportunity to acknowledge the bits of ourselves that we don’t want to admit exist. If we can get past that feeling, as Dax did in this episode, we do have a chance to make our egos stronger and our psyches more whole. This is the goal of analytical psychology.
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