The Matrix and the Intruder

Abstract

This paper is a reflection on the relations between an individual and the different groups to whom he belongs during the course of his life. The aim of this paper is to describe these relations in the terms of the paradigm of a matrix and an intruder. We believe that this interpretation can shed an interesting light on the individual development. It can also provide a key of interpretation of some fundamental life events that may be of help for therapists. The two roles are distinct, but in time an individual can assume either or even both at the same time. We argue that this duality could be the expression of the opposing poles of a Jungian archetype. We also elaborate on the relations of this archetype with the septenary model of the psyche of the Swiss psychoanalyst Charles Baudouin and the schizo-paranoid and depressive phases described by Melany Klein. We conclude with a reference to Etruscan and early Roman art in relation to the emptiness of the matrix role and the existential solitude of man.