Sacred trauma: Language, recovery, and the face of God in Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of faith

Daniel Dyer
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:51:21 PDT

This thesis examines the three films that constitute director Ingmar Bergman's first trilogy, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence. In the thesis I take a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing the films' treatments of language, trauma, and God. Drawing on the Old Testament and work of psychoanalysts dealing with trauma, I argue for the similarities and reciprocity between trauma and communion with God and the ways in which the three films illustrate these relationships. Each film functions on a reflexive level to criticize the tools of filmmaking--images, dialog, and narrative--and points to discordance between symbols and reality. Bringing in Jacques Lacan's model of the imaginary and symbolic orders, I analyze the treatment of language and trauma in the trilogy and the potential for recovery suggested by the end of each film. The thesis culminates by tracing the trilogy toward a new vision of God and his role in the human psyche.