Archetypes

Archetypal Theory Examining the ideas of Carl Jung & Northrop Frye

What is an archetype? 

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Archetypes are universal constants, like blueprints underlying all forms, images, and behaviors common to all mankind regardless of race, creed, or color. They are commonly thought of as roles, like the hero, trickster, sage, magician, mother, and father. They are much more varied and translate into conceptual and psychological realities. For example- Pregnancy is an archetype because it stands for bringing new life into the world. Pregnancy can appear as the birth of a baby, the creation of a novel, or psychologically making a significant change that brings you into the world in a new and lively way i.e., an addict who has reversed his addiction.

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Carl Jung

Psychoanalyst

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Northrop Frye

Literary Theorist

Humans unconsciously produce dream images or “archaic remnants.” •

These images are shared by all and reflect a common human experience. These images are archetypes. •

 Exist

because humans all have a tendency to form basic images, situations, and symbols.

 The

basic archetypal patterns for all humans remains the same.

 Detailed

representation changes from person to person, culture to culture, and era to era.

We all use the same psychological cookie cutter ...

... but we decorate or imagine the cookies differently!

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Just like bodily instincts – hunger, reproductive drive ect. – archetypes are formed unconsciously – without our awareness.

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Jung refers to this as the ... Collective Unconscious – sharing and reproduction of ideas and images common to humankind.

 Archetypes

are images that we can all identify with through the collective unconscious.

 Often

we will have strong emotional responses to these archetypes, or

We allow ourselves “to be brought under their spell.” - Carl Jung

 Because

archetypes are understood collectively, they have an important role in group identity.

 They

are held in common by social groups.

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characterize national or community identities.

 They

form historical legends and literary histories.

Why should we be interested in archetypes? Each and everyone of us inherits specific archetypal behavior patterns handed down through the generations.  Our conscious objective awareness of these patterns can make a huge difference in our life.  Unconscious patterns get worse with every generation.  Jung described this negative accumulation as the ancestral shadow. 

John Kennedy Jr.

Judy Garland

Can archetypes effect our relationships? 

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Many of us operate within an inherited archetypal family structure. Unconscious complexes within us can engulf our ego and take over. For example- power trips, avarice, over-possessiveness, jealousy, depression, abusive anger etc., all have an archetypal pattern working at its core. Even loving relationships can have a negative side that creates crippling co-dependence. If one is in the grips of an archetypal pattern, it is difficult to break the cycle. However, the goal is to identify the pattern and break it. Example- Child abuse or addiction

Situational Archetypes 

The Quest- This motif describes the search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land, the desolation of it mirrored by a leader’s illness or disability.

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The Task- This refers to a possibly superhuman feat that must be accomplished in order to fulfill the ultimate goal.

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The Journey- The journey sends the hero in search for some truth of information necessary to restore fertility, justice, and /or harmony to the kingdom. The journey includes a series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way.

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The Initiation- This situation refers to the moment, usually psychologically, in which an individual comes into maturity. He or she gains a new awareness into the nature of circumstances and problems and understand his or her responsibility for trying to resolve the dilemma.

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Death and Rebirth- The most common of all situational archetypes; this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. It refers to those situations in which someone or something, concrete and/or metaphysical dies, yet is accompanied by some sign of birth or rebirth.

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The Fall- This archetype describes a descent in actions from a higher to a lower state of being, an experience which might involve defilement, moral imperfection, and/or loss of innocence. This fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience and/or moral transgression.

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Battle Between Good and Evil- These situations pit obvious forces which represent good and evil against one another. Typically, good ultimately triumphs over evil despite great odds.

Character Archetypes The Hero- This character is the one ultimately who may fulfill a necessary task and who will restore fertility, harmony, and/or justice to a community.

 Mentors-

These individuals serve as teachers or counselors to the initiates. Sometimes they work as role models and often serve as father or mother figures. They teach by example the skills necessary to survive the journey or quest.

 Hunting

Group of Companions These loyal companions are willing to face any number of perils in order to be together.

 Loyal

Retainers These individuals are like the noble sidekicks to the hero. Their duty is to protect the hero. Often the retainers reflects the hero’s nobility.

 Friendly

Beast These animals assist the hero and reflect that nature is on the hero’s side.

 The

Devil Figure This character represents evil incarnate. He or she may offer worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for possession of the soul or integrity. This figure’s main air is to oppose the hero in his or her quest.

 The

Outcast This figure is banished from a community for some crime(real or imagined). The outcast is usually destined to become a wanderer.

Simon- Lord of the Flies

 The

Earth Mother This character is symbolic of fulfillment, abundance, and fertility; offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those who she contacts; often depicted in earth colors and womanly shaped.

 The

Temptress This character is characterized by sensuous beauty; she is one whose physical attraction may bring about the hero’s downfall.

Ginger- Gilligan's Island

Vesper Lynd- Casino Royale

Roxy

 The

Unfaithful Wife This woman, married to a man she sees as dull or distant, is attracted to a more virile or interesting man.

 The

Damsel in Distress This vulnerable woman must be rescued by the hero. She also may be used as a trap, by an evil figure, to ensnare the hero.

 The

Witch A woman, often a hag, (though she may be disguised as a beautiful young woman), who attempts to trap and destroy the protagonist.

 The

Star-Crossed Lovers These two characters are engaged in a love affair that is fated to end in tragedy for one or both due to the disapproval of society, friends, family, or the gods.

 The

Trickster / The Fool This character often tricks others to get them to do what he or she wants; they can be both virtuous or nefarious.

The Trickster

The Fool

 The

Sage or Wise Old Man This character is typically represented by a kind and wise, older father figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world, to help tell stories and offer guidance, that in a mystical way illuminates to his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.

 The

Mamma’s Boy This character is typically represented by a kind but weaker grown man who allows his mother to control most aspects of his life. He may have difficulty maintaining a relationship with a woman.

Other Archetypal Forms Symbolic Archetypes Light vs. Darkness- Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair. Water vs. Desert- Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. Water is used in baptism services, which symbolizes spiritual births. Similarly, the appearance of rain in a work of literature can suggest a character’s spiritual rebirth .

Heaven vs. Hell- Humanity has traditionally associated parts of the universe not accessible to it with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern its world. The skies and mountaintops house its gods; the bowels of the earth contain the diabolic forces that inhabit its universe. Haven vs. Wilderness- Places of safety contrast sharply against the dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources. Supernatural Intervention- The gods intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against him. Fire vs. Ice- Fire represents knowledge, light, and rebirth while ice like desert represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death.

More Forms Colors Black- Chaos, mystery, the unknown, before existence, death, the unconsciousness, evil Red- Blood, sacrifice, royalty; violent passion; disorder, sunrise, birth, fire, emotion, wounds, death, sentiment, mother, Mars, anger, excitement, heat, stimulation Green- Hope, growth, envy, Earth, fertility, sensation, vegetation, water, nature, sympathy, adaptability

White (light)- Purity, peace, innocence, goodness, Spirit, morality, creative force, spiritual thought Orange- Fire, pride, ambition, egoism Blue- Clear sky, the day, the sea, heaven, devotion, innocence, truth, spirituality, physical soothing and cooling Violet- Water, nostalgia, memory, advanced spirituality Gold- Majesty, sun, wealth, corn (life dependency), truth Silver- Moon, wealth

Clouds/Mist- Mystery, sacredness

More Forms Numbers Three- The Trinity, Spirit Four- Mankind (four limbs), four elements, four seasons

Six- Devil, evil Seven- Divinity, seven deadly sins, seven days of the week, seven days to create the world, seven stages of civilization, seven colors of the rainbow, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit Shapes

Oval- Woman, passivity Triangle- Between heaven and earth, fire, the number 3, trinity, movement upward, return to origins, light Square- Pluralism, firmness, stability, material solidity, the number 4

Rectangle- The most rational, most secure Cross- The tree of life, struggle, martyrdom, Circle- Heaven, intellect, thought, sun, unity, perfection, eternity, oneness Spiral- Orbit, growth, deepening, motion, macrocosm, breath, spirit, water

Man and His Symbols (1964)

How do the archetypes change? Traditional v. Untraditional? 

Brothers Grimm Fairytale

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Catherine Warwicke’s Film

Or Brothers Grimm Fairytale 

Disney’s

Fairytale

 Symbols,

situations, characters???

 Traditional

or untraditional?

Frye was uninterested about the collective unconscious on the grounds it was unnecessary: since the unconscious is unknowable and therefore cannot be studied. For Frye , literary archetypes “play an essential role in refashioning the material of the universe into an alternative verbal universe that is humanly intelligible and viable, because it is adapted to essential human needs and concerns” (Abrams 224-225).

Frye’s Archetype •

Is a symbol or image.

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Appears often and becomes a recognizable element or pattern in literature.

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Becomes reflective of our reading experience as a whole.

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We understand and make connections between archetypes because they show up so often in our literature.

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There are two basic categories, comedic and tragic. Each category is subdivided: comedy and romance for the comedic; tragedy and satire (or irony) for the tragic.

Each archetypal narrative or “mythos” falls into one of the four seasons! Each mythos has six phases. Season Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Narrative Irony or Satire

Comedy

Romance

Tragedy

Reason for Season Satire is a “dark” genre; satire is a disillusioned and mocking form of the three other genres. It is noted for its darkness, dissolution, the return of chaos, and the defeat of the heroic figure.

Comedy is characterized by the birth of the hero, revival, and resurrection. It symbolizes the defeat of winter and darkness. Romance culminates life in the seasonal calendar. Romance culminates with some sort of triumph, usually marriage. Tragedy concludes the dying stage of the seasonal calendar. Tragedy concludes with the “fall” or demise of the protagonist.

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Winter Irony or Satire Theodor Seuss Geisel-

The Lorax-The Lorax is a political satire about the environment, written in the 60s at a time when America was becoming more aware of pollution. The book expresses that the world is not going to change unless we do something about it.

Six Phases 

Existent society

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Criticism of society without change

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Existent society is replaced by content or happy society

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Individual’s faults targeted

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Natural law prevails

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World of shock and horror

Result= Darkness and defeat of the heroic figure

Six Phases

 Ferris Bueller’s Day

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Existent society

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Criticism of society without change

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Existent society replaced by happy, content society

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Happy society resists change

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Reflective of idyllic view

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Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Off

Result= Wish-fulfillment and darkness defeated.

Six Phases

Summer Romance 

The Notebook

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Complete innocence

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Youthful innocence or inexperience

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Completion of an ideal

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Happy society resists change

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Reflective of idyllic view

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Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Result= Wish fulfillment and triumph of hero(es)

Fall Tragedy  Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Six Phases 

Complete innocence

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Youthful innocence of inexperience

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Completion of an ideal

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Individual’s faults targeted

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Natural law prevails

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World of shock and horror

Result= Isolation, tyranny, and the fallen hero

The very scientific ... Anatomy of Criticism (1957)

Complete innocence, Youthful innocence of inexperience, Completion of an ideal, Happy society resists change, Reflective of idyllic view, Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Shared: Happy society resists change, Reflective of idyllic view, Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Existent society; Criticism of society without change; Existent society replaced by happy, content society; Happy society resists change; Reflective of idyllic view; Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Summer: Romance

Shared: Complete innocence, Youthful innocence of inexperience, Completion of an ideal

Comedy Fall:

Sprin g:

Trag edy

Com edy

Shared: Existent society; Criticism of society without change; Existent society replaced by happy, content society

Complete innocence, Youthful innocence of inexperience, Completion of an ideal, Individual’s faults targeted, Natural law prevails, World of shock and horror

Tragedy Winter: Irony & Satire Existent Society, Criticism of society without change, Existent society is replaced by content or happy society, Individual’s faults targeted, Natural law prevails, World of shock and horror

Shared: Individual’s faults targeted, Natural law prevails, World of shock and horror

Introduction to the Comedic Phase Comedic Phase- Comedies focus on the social group, often setting up an arbitrary law or humorous society and setting out to reform it. The change, however, is rarely a moral judgment of the wicked, but usually a social judgment of the absurd instead. The hero’s society, which prevails in the end, is really a reversal of social standards which recalls a golden age in the past, an age that usually disappeared before the beginning of the story. Example- A typical comedy begins with a young man who wants a young woman, but there is opposition, usually from the young woman’s father. In the end a plot twist allows the hero to succeed. Characters- Hero and Heroine is self-deprecators, often neutral and uniformed. Another protagonist is the assistant who hatches a scheme to bring about the hero’s victory. He or she is benevolent and often produces the happy ending.

Explanation of Comedic Phase 

Existent society remains: The absurd society triumphs or remains undefeated or sometimes, in more ironic cases, dissolves without anything to take its place.

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Criticism of society without change: The hero escapes a humorous society without transforming it.

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Existent society is replaced by happy society: The hero’s society replaces that of the humorous society.

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Happy society resists change: The society at the beginning of the story remains at the end, but a metamorphosis occurs by a central character or the members of the society moving into a new world where a comic resolution and a rebirth are achieved before the return to the normal world.

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Reflective and idyllic view: Movement occurs from a lower world of confusion to an upper world of order, where a distance between human experience exists.

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Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation: the collapse and disintegration of comic society occurs, and the story exists in an isolated place or on a different plane.

Introduction to the Romantic Phase Romance Phase- Tales from this mythos are marked by extraordinary persistent nostalgia, and a search for some kind of imaginative golden age in time or space. These stories typically have virtuous heroes and beautiful heroines who represent ideas and villains who threaten their ascendency.

Example- The tale begins with a land that is ruled by a helpless old king being laid to waste by a dragon. Young people are offered up as sacrifice until the king’s daughter is sacrificed . Then, the hero arrives, kills the dragon, marries the king’s daughter, and ascends to the throne. Characters- The reader’s values are bound up with the hero who unequivocally represents what is supposed to be right and virtuous. If the tale rises to the level of a myth, the hero will show signs of divinity, and the enemy will have demonic qualities.

Explanation of Romantic Phase 

Complete Innocence- These stories often relate to the birth of a hero, an event which is commonly associated with flood or water imagery; it is common to have a hero locked in ache, symbolizing that fertility and youth is the real wealth.

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Youth Innocence of inexperience- This phase usually presents a pastoral world, generally pleasant wooded landscape with glades, shaded valleys, and murmuring brooks. The story tends to center on a youthful hero, still overshadowed by parents and surrounded by youthful companions.

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Completion of the ideal- This is the typical quest where the hero sets out on an adventure to destroy the monster and evil and return goodness and fertility to the land.

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Happy Society resists change- The hero’s society, which is innocent, is assaulted by an enemy, which is experience, but it withstands and survives the assault. This is seen in a allegory or a morality play. It may be the society or the individual that needs to be defended.

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Reflective of the Idyllic View- Here experience and adventure is contemplated, a similar world as that in the second phase is present, but with a knowledge that did not previously exist.

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Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation- These are tales often told in quotation marks by one individual to a small group. There is coziness to this type of tale as it is free from confrontation and has a relaxed or entertaining tone.

Introduction to the Fall Phase Fall Phase- In the tragedy, the focus is on individuals. The tragedy is in the hero’s isolation, not the villain's betrayal. In fact, the villain is often part of the hero. The story begins with a hero who has comparatively free will and moves him or her into a world of causation. This world of causation is dependent on a belief in natural law or fate. It does not necessarily attempt to answer questions about why these events happen so much as shows the effects of them. Characters- Tragic heroes reside at the top of the wheel of fortune, somewhere between heaven and earth, between paradisal freedom and a world of bondage. They are inevitable conductors of power: instruments as well as victims of destruction.

Explanation of the Tragedy Phase 

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Complete Innocence- The hero who is signified because of his or her innocence and courage is toppled; the hero is often a female in this phase. Youthful Innocence of Inexperience- The heroes are heroines are often young people first encountering the realities of adulthood. Frequently, a central character will survive so that the action closes with an adjustment to mature experience. Completion of the Ideal- The success of completion of the hero’s achievement is essential despite his tragic end, and a sense of serenity or peace often exists after his death because of his final accomplishment. These tragedies are commonly a sequel to a previous tragic event. Individual Faults- The hero moves from innocence to experience with his fall occurring as a result of hubris or hamartia. Natural Law- Natural Law becomes prominent in these stories, overshadowing the hero and allowing the audience to look down on the action. This phase includes any of the existential and fatalistic tragedies that deal more with metaphysical and theological questions rather than social or moral ones. World of Shock or Horror- These stories possess a strong element of demonic ritual in public punishment and depict a hero in such deep agony or humiliation that they cannot achieve a poetic prose. Cannibalism, mutilation, and torture are frequently present in this phase.

Introduction to Irony and Satire Irony or Satire Phase- Irony and satire parody romance by applying romantic mythical forms to a more realistic content, which fits them in unexpected ways. It presents an image where reality rather than ideology is dominant. Example- A Goliath is encountered by a tiny David with his sudden and vicious stones. He is a giant prodded by a cool and observant but almost invisible enemy into a blind, stampeding fury and then is polished off at leisure. Characters- Hero, if there is one, a part of irony and satire is the disappearance of the heroic. The opponent of the hero is a deceiving or self-deceived character often the object of ridicule in satire. He or she often represents conventions which are interpreted as humorous, and normally stereotypical in nature.

Explanation of Irony and Satire Phase 

Existent Society Remains- There is no displacement of the humorous society in this phase, and the absurdity often does not occur to the audience until after the story has ended when a realization of the futility of society is realized. It takes for granted a world that is full of anomalies, injustices, follies, and crimes that is permanent and displaceable. It suggest the only way to survive is for one to live with his or her eyes open and his or her mouth shut.

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Criticism of Society without Change- Sources of values and conventions are ridiculed usually a successful rogue who challenges the society’s generalizations, theories, and dogmas by showing their ineffectiveness in the face of reality; the rogue does not, however, offer a positive solution or create a new society.

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Existent Society is Replaced by Happy Society- In irony and satire, this is accomplished by attacking and criticizing even basic common sense; there is usually a shift in perspective to show societies in a different light.

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Individual’s Faults- The main emphasis is on the natural cycle, examining the steady unbroken wheel of fate or fortune.

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World of Shock or Horror- This phase presents human life in terms of largely unrelieved bondage and social tyranny.

Recognizing Patterns in Literature The following comes from the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster:

Trips tend to become quests to discover self. Meals together tend to be acts of communion/community or isolation. Ghosts, vampires, monsters, and evil people and sometimes simply the antagonist are not about the supernatural, but rather they tend to depict some sort of exploitation. Weather matters. Violence can be both literal and figurative. Sometimes stories are meant to change us and through us change society. Keep an eye out for Christ-like figures. Flying tends to represent freedom. Falling represents imprisonment. Being dunked or sprinkled with water tends to be a baptism. Disabilities, scars, and deformities show character and theme.

As you read, consider these ideas.