Fragmented Selves: Archetypal Journeys and Unattained Individuation in Moinuddin’s Women in ‘Provide, Provide’

Abstract

This study explores the inner fragmentation of the women portrayed in Moinuddin’s “Provide, Provide,” focusing on how their journeys toward self-realization remain painfully incomplete. Limited to selected female characters in the story, the research draws on Carl Jung’s concept of archetypes and individuation to understand how these women struggle between personal longing and social expectation. Using a qualitative approach and close textual analysis, the study uncovers how figures such as the nurturing caregiver and the self-sacrificing mother are not merely roles they perform, but identities imposed upon them. The findings suggest that their fractured sense of self does not arise from personal weakness, but from the quiet, persistent pressures of a patriarchal environment that denies them autonomy and emotional wholeness. Their failure to achieve individuation reflects a deeper cultural reality where duty overshadows desire and silence replaces self-expression. Ultimately, the study recommends further exploration of similar patterns in Pakistani Anglophone fiction and encourages blending psychoanalytic and feminist perspectives to better understand the muted struggles of women seeking wholeness within restrictive social structures. However, sometimes at the certain point in time, they refuse to submit to the standards of the society by confronting their inner conflicts and reach the stage of individuation leading them to be hero of their lives. This study contributes to the development of a general understanding of human behaviors in relevance to their social and cultural circumstances through examining these repeated patterns.