THE BINARITY OF INDIVIDUALITY IN SELECTED SHORT STORIES FROM OLUKOREDE YISHAU’S VAULTS OF SECRETS

Abstract

This article examines individuality as a dual construct comprising
societal expectations and personal volition, viewed through a
psychoanalytic lens in Olukorede Yishau's Vaults of Secrets (2020).
Influenced by Jungian psychoanalysis, especially his theories of the
shadow and persona, the article explores how these characters
represent and negotiate the binary structure of selfhood. This
article, premised on five selected short stories reveals how these two
concepts contribute to the complexity in human behaviour due to
situational variables, environmental factors, and societal pressures.
Central to this article is the conjecture of the fluidity and
changeability of individuality, naturally based on the interaction or
tension created between conscious wishes and unconscious
impulses. Jung's process of individuation—or the process of
integrating the shadow with the persona—provides a gateway into
how characters negotiate conflicting personality attributes and
balance their inner dualities. The binary construct present in
Yishau's characters does not stop at mere good and evil but furthers
another aspect of human nature altogether. Considering such
binary constructs brings this article closer to explaining deeper
psychological and societal forces at play in shaping individual
identity.