Fishes, Water, & Dreams: Dominant & Inferior
Part II of This Jungian Series
"Man becomes whole, integrated, calm, fertile, and happy when (and only when) the process of individuation is complete, when the conscious and the unconscious have learned to live at peace and to complement one another." -― C.G. Jung, Man and His Symbols
I wanted to look into the dominant and inferior Jung's theory Richie was reading in the network script of 2x01, which brought him to question his purpose. Using this I wanted to write what I believe is each character's inferior function.
I'm not a therapist but I love the subject of stories and mental health.
Carl Jung - a leading figure of psychology that theorized how people view and act in the world is based on four psychological functions that are either dominant or inferior. (Four functions are thinking,feeling,sensation, intution)
But TLDR: We behave based on these four functions, and one of these functions is an inferior part of our personality that needs to be explored. Eventually, it seeps into co-consciousness, asking for integration, and can make us act in compulsive ways to compensate for our weakening dominant function.
The inferior function can come into consciousness when a traumatic event occurs. I believe these psychological types reveal each character's inferior function.
The inferior function breaks through the ego's attempts to dominate and exposes us to the unknown and unexplored. According to Jung, despite being perceived as a weak spot in the personality, this "treasure hard to attain" is also the source of our vitality, liberation, and enjoyment.
Descriptions of the rational functions:
Thinking:
Internally or externally, using logical consistency, understanding, and concepts and systems in a personal way (introverted), we make decisions and organize and structure the world objectively, and we implement systems based on outside data (extraverted)
Extraverted: Principled, idealistic, objective, rational
Introverted: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.
Feeling:
It is making decisions based on feelings and relationships. In an introverted way, it centers on internal values and personal emotions. It's about evaluating situations based on what feels right to the person.
Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.
Introverted: Sympathetic, pleases others, may be dependent, reserved.
Descriptions of Irrational Functions:
Sensation
We can recall and integrate our inner or external world to interpret our immediate environment and the present.
Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.
Introverted: Calm and passive, restrained, controlled and controlling.
Intuition
Focuses on internal insights that reveal patterns and future possibilities based on past experiences. It involves developing personal long-term visions and intuitively understanding complex ideas.
Extraverted: Enterprising, outgoing, can be irresponsible.
Introverted: Mystical, dreamer and artist. Can be obsessive.
I thought it would be interesting to apply these theories to Carmy, Sydney, Richie, and Natalie in the first part to get a quick profile of the characters. I also attached quotes from psychology types that go deep into Jung's theory on the four functions.
Carmen Bezatto- Inferior Function (Extraverted Feeling)
Dominant Introverted Thinker: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.
"In the case of a human object, the man has a distinct feeling that he matters only in a negative way, i.e., in milder instances he is merely conscious of being superfluous, but with a more extreme type he feels himself warded off as something definitely disturbing."
I was back and forth between extraverted sensing being his inferior or feeling. But Carmy's desire to no longer be alone overshadows. He longs to have Claire and Mikey's extroverted nature and way of being with people. Carmy, not knowing his inner feelings, reflects why he can have trouble focusing on the feelings of others at times. Since Mikey’s death, his inferior function - the longing to connect, to no longer compete - is playing in a way where carmy is resisting. Heavily relying on processing systems - what introverted thinking types are good at instead of working on their relationships and feelings of themselves and others.
This also stood out to me for the dominant introverted thinking types resisting- they will stay in environments no matter the external conditions as long as it lets them focus on their work and projects.
“"Invariably the object has to submit to a certain neglect; in worse cases, it is even surrounded with quite unnecessary measures of precaution. Thus, it happens that this type tends to disappear behind a cloud of misunderstanding."
Years ago, to help his trauma, Carmy heavily relied on this function that helped him understand systems and logic - to swallow his feelings and become the best chef. But now his longing for feeling for connection is weaning his introverted thinking effect. Now, it's affecting the relationships around him. His obsession with meeting high standards creates further misunderstandings. The more Carmy resists intergration it is only hurting himself and those he wishes to be close to, the season 3 finale the chefs dialogue reminds Carmy the reason he is running a restaurant has to be about the people. Not the systems of stars but putting importance on relationships will get him closer to wholeness.
Sydney- Inferior Function (Introverted Thinking)
Dominant: Extraverted Feeling
Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.
"One can feel 'correctly,' however, only when the feeling is disturbed by nothing else. But nothing disturbs feeling so much as thinking."
Some sites consider Sydney introverted, but I say extroverted. Watching Season 3 highlighted for me that Sydney is an extravert. She can talk to a group of world-star chefs and include herself in conversation seamlessly- adding her humor to the mix- extravert. Also, the party she threw at her apartment, along with the desire to go out and explore the external world. Sydney needs social harmony amongst the team. Sometimes, she shows some socially awkward moments, but that plays into her inferior function, where she can sometimes overthink.
Also important to note is that being alone at her dad’s house was not great for Sydney's headspace. She has to be out in the world exploring and engaging with people.
Sydney is open to new possibilities. Carmy, though he wants to improve the beef, automatically resorts to old, tried, and accurate methods. Sydney presents how different and positive things could be.
Her inferior function is introverted thinking. Sydney is working on this for the 3rd season. Her dad points out how excited she is about opening The Bear but wants her to still be cautious, and it seems she did this same thought process with her catering business. There seemed to be a sense of urgency? She did move out fast, according to Emmanuel, like that is second nature to her, and for her dad to be pre cautious, she considers it negative.
At the beginning of season 1, by meeting Carmy and being part of the beef, Sydney approaches things differently than what's in her nature. She’s patient (incredibly patient with carmy) and creates and analyzes systems that will work for the business. This, along with her feelings of enthusiasm that I'm sure she hasn't felt since the start of her catering business, has her leaping in despite what happened in review which wasnt quite resolved between Sydney and Carmu. Her feelings are in it. She sees that carmy is open to a new chapter, and her feelings for her team make her jump into opening The Bear.
But 2x10 brings her back down to reality. Because of the Berzattos' dysfunction, she takes a step back to see if she should actually sign the agreement. In this case, her inferior function is asking for integration. This explains why she suddenly wants to think logically when faced with this decision. It’s as though she’s trying to step back and analyze the situation carefully, but this may not come naturally to her, and it leads to internal conflict.
Sidebar: This was not on purpose! But seriously, it's funny that Sydney's dominant function is Carmy's inferior and vice versa. Sydney wants to create a new menu, and carmy says, "Give me a minute." Classic interaction of an extroverted feeling (I feel this, and you should too! Let's do it, carmy!) and introverted type- (I'm not so sure; I need a minute to think).
Richie Jerimovich inferior Function (Introverted Intution)
Dominant Extraverted Sensing
Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.
"Upon the lower levels this is the man of tangible reality, with little tendency either for reflection or commanding purpose."
We don’t see much of Richie’s inferior function play except for season one. Since he’s extraverted sensation-dominant, he relies on external senses to connect to the world. Due to Mikey’s death, we don’t see this side of Richie. We only hear stories of the boisterous nature of Mikey’s sidekick, such as all-night partying and random trips.
With the introverted intuition being inferior, there is anxiety towards thinking long-term. We see him consider long-term goals when Tiffany’s pregnant, but it falls through. His attachment to his immediate environment The Beef,Mikey- attachment to the delicate ecosystem Richie overcompensates with his dominant function - he’s louder and even more stuck in keeping his immediate environment the same.
Then, in season 2 , Richie becomes more introverted and considers aspects of his personality yet to develop. A lack of responsibility runs inferior intuition, but Richie is on the integration steps when he asks Carmy for his purpose.
In Forks, his inferior function plays out, mainly when cleaning forks, where he can’t see the purpose or have a deeper reflection of the repetitive task. It isn’t until Tiffany tells him the news of her long-term future happening that Richie again reflects and has a deeper introspection - working on his unconscious, he starts to understand what he can do for self-actualization.
As the episode progresses, Richie’s inferior intuition starts to realize when he begins to appreciate the high standards and purpose at Ever. He connects with Chef Terry’s story about her father’s journals, which helps Richie connect the dots between his life and the importance of how to spend his time, dedication, and purpose.
Season 3 Richie has a different level of self awareness. He understands the causes of fear and how his dominant sensation function overcompensates (e.g., Carmy changing his environment, which creates fear in his dojo), and he notices Carmy's own need for integration.
You notice at Sydneys partner Richie wasn't as loud as season 1 Richie? He didn't celebrate immediately at Ever Funeral dinner. He connected to the decorations and showed his extraverted personality, which is more pleasant than we've seen him. Even through being in a group, his introverted intution comes into light when he asks Jess how she continues to find inspiration. Richie wants to move forward by still creating that meaning in his life that only the intution function can give him his answer.
Natalie Berzatto Inferior Introverted Thinking
Dominant:Extraverted Feeling
This made me see Natalie and Sydney's relationship in an even more positive light - they have the same dominant and inferior functions- no wonder Sydney naturally asked Natalie if she was okay. Natalie also cares about the well-being of her family and prioritizes relationships and those happiness around her - although this can be positive for Sydney. We see this as a negative for Natalie. She makes herself sick as she tells her mother. But this imo tells me that Natalie's dominant function of feeling for those around her was and drained by Donna, or it's an overcompensation for her upbringing. Maybe both.
Internal introverted thinking is her inferior function, and this plays out in season 3 when Natalie, like Sydney, is having a battle between her heart and her head. She wants to connect to her mother but knows the implications of bringing a child into the world she was raised in. Logically, Natalie knows her mom is who she is, and she must accept it from a distance, but she still longs for a close relationship with everyone around her—she longs for social harmony.
In the Ice Chips episode, we see Natalie's inferior function come out and integrate when she observes her mother during her labor. Natalie can think logically and see why she is the way she is, hold her mother accountable, and see everything objectively. She sees how broken her mother is and can move forward when she balances her head and her heart.
Thank you for reading! Season 3 really did a deep dive into psychology. I would not be surprised if the writers explored personality types and integration. Do you notice the show also uses a lot of symbolism, and a character is always discussing a dream they had? Well, Jung was big on dreams and symbolism as a way to connect to our subconscious to get closer to integration. I'll connect the symbolism and dreams with Jung in the next post.