So fast forward to the future, where we have a Second
Impact. On a personal level, this symbolizes Man's first literal contact with
God again underlines the essential difference between man and God. Again, the
separation from mother is repeated on a conscious level. The first impact was
unconscious (baby realizing it is not the same entity as its mother), the second
is conscious (adults and children losing their mothers and loved ones in death,
not feeling accepted or understood by peers etc). So this is a double rejection
from the internal mother archetype, and the external environment. On a collective
level, this double rejection is experienced by an existential malaise, a lack
of meaning in life and in Eva, the destruction of the environment and the loss
of many human lives.
Nerv essentially, is the means by which the human race defends the already fragile state of the ego. In fact, Nerv represents on a collective level, the desire to fight and exist; a refusal to succumb to the negative mother complex. They are set up as defense mechanisms (lol, isn't that term so suitable?) for humanity against the overwhelming power of the Angels/God, for the ego against the Self.
On the personal level, we have the Evas. The Evas partly belong to the realm of humanity (they were made by humans) but they also belong to the realm of the Gods (they are modeled after Lilith - the dark Mother - and share DNA with the Angels). In this sense they are intermediaries, part of the personal unconscious (as opposed to the collective unconscious symbolized by the Angels). So they hold the part of the Self that should be safely accessible to the conscious mind (btw, ultimately, there are parts of the unconscious inaccessible to the ego. Think of the ego as a glass and the Self as the ocean. You can only fit so much ocean into that little glass.)
The Evas are modeled after the archetypal, collective mother Lilith, but they
have also absorbed some of the essence of the pilot's mothers, which is why
they can sync up w/the Evas. Asuka finds a positive 'mother' in Nigoki, Shinji's
mother was absorbed during a test accident, and Rei, a clone of the Mother,
has no problem syncing up with what is essentially herself (note how she reminds
Shinji of his mother, and is absorbed by Lilith. Rei is a different case from
Shinji/Asuka in that she is only partly human. She is a clone, a shell, an Angel
bestowed with self awareness, humanity. There isn't enough room on the website
to explore the psychological implications of this, but do visit Rev 3:1 for
more on this).
Thus, the Evas help the pilots reconstitute their egos, partly by returning
the children to a pseudo fetal state: children are suspended in a sealed plug
of 'amniotic soup' where their bodies become linked to Eva's. Evas then embody
elements of a positive mother complex, in which the protective side to the Mother
is emphasized, it is a return to the womb.
The AT field is another protective aspect of Eva. It is a larger ego boundary that protects the ego from the Self. While it is important for ego to have a healthy relationship with the Self, the ego must always maintain a healthy ego barrier and remain separate from Self. To be reabsorbed permanently would indicate madness; to be reabsorbed into the Self would mean giving up one's existence (ie death). Hence when Asuka's AT field is penetrated by the Angel, it is experienced as mind rape; the unconscious floods her mind and her ego barriers are disrupted. However, the connection is obviously beneficial; Shinji's little head trips whilst piloting Eva offer important insights into his psyche. Now, onto the resolution of the Mother complex and the final movies here.