Tressider, Jack. Symbols and Their Meanings. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 2006.

The Archetypal Approach

what is it?

The archetypal approach to literature evolved from studies in anthropology and psychology. Archetypal critics make the reasonable assumption that human beings all over the world have basic experiences in common and have developed similar stories and symbols to express these experiences. Their assumption that myths from distant countries might help to explain a work of literature might seem a little far-fetched. However, critics of this persuasion believe it is valid. 

Carl Jung, a student of Freud, came to the conclusion that some of his patients ‘ dreams contained images and narrative patterns not from their personal unconscious but from the collective unconscious of the human race. It was Jung who first used the term archetype to denote plots, characters, and symbols found in literature, folk tales, and dreams throughout the world . Some of the principal archetypes are described in the following paragraphs. 

The Hero and the Quest: According to Joseph Campbell, the story of the hero is the monomyth, or the one story at the bottom of all stories. The hero is called to adventure. This means that the hero must go on a quest. The first stage of the quest is separation: in this stage the hero separates from familiar surroundings and goes on a journey. The second stage of the quest is initiation: the hero may fight a dragon, conquer an enemy or in some other way prove his or her courage, wisdom gained in the initiatory phase. Often the initiation involves a journey to the underworld, and the return phase is regarded as a kind of rebirth. This links the myth of the hero to the next archetypal motif. This motif can be applied to many of our contemporary films. For instance, if you consider the animated feature film, Nemo—would you classify the movie as a Quest or a Coming of Age film? If you consider the movie from Marlin’s perspective then perhaps it can be viewed as a quest….in search of his son and restoring their father-son relationship. If you consider the story from Nemo’s perspective then perhaps it is a coming-of-age tale as Nemo discovers who he is and what is important to him. 

The Death and Rebirth Pattern: Many myths from around the world reflect the cycle of the seasons. Sometimes myths require a sacrifice so that the seasons can continue. A sacrificial hero (in myth it is usually a god or king) accepts death or disgrace so that the community can flourish. Although the sacrifice is real, it is not necessarily to be regarded as final: the god who dies in the winter may be reborn in the spring. Characters like Oedipus and Hamlet and even Harry Potter who sacrifice themselves to save their kingdoms/worlds are based on the archetype of the dying god. Consider how this pattern is played out in the last Harry Potter movie: Deathly Hallows Part II. 

Mother Earth/ Father Sky: A surprising number of cultures regard the earth as the mother of all life, and she is sometimes seen as the original divinity who was wedded and superseded by the archetypal male divinity, the sky god. The offspring of the earth mother and the sky father are all of the creatures that inhabit the world. Earth mother characters in literature are characterized by vitality, courage, and optimism. They represent embodiments of the life force. The character, Shug Avery in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple represents a modern version of the earth goddess: she gives Celie the courage to live. Think of the mother and father characters in literature that could be considered Mother Earth and Father Sky characters. 

Stock Characters/Archetypal Characters: Just as there are repeated archetypal patterns in literature, there are repeated types of stock characters. These characters appear throughout literature. Consider the following list: hero, villain, innocent, wise sage, mother earth/goddess, clown, fool, dolt, devil, temptress, damsel in distress, knight in shining armor, goddess, and more. Consider these questions for helping understand the archetypal approach: 

 What patterns emerge in the literature? 

 What universal themes are present? 

 What situations seem common across cultures and time periods? 

 What mythological archetypes emerge? 

 Are there stock characters present? What makes them “stock”? 

Archetypal Approach 

This approach focuses on connections, mythological/biblical allusions, archetypal images, symbols, characters, and themes. 

Questions to consider:

A.   What universal experiences are depicted?

B.   Are patterns suggested? Are seasons used to suggest a pattern or cycle?

C.   Does the protagonist undergo any kind of transformation, such as movement from innocence to experience, that seems archetypal?

D.   Are the names significant?

E.   Is there a Christ-like figure in the work?

F.   Does the writer allude to biblical or mythological literature? For what purpose?

G.  What aspects of the work create deep universal responses to it?

H.  How does the work reflect the hopes, fears, and expectations of entire cultures?

I.   Does this text seek to explain the unexplainable? Origin of man? Purpose and destiny of human beings? 

J.   What common human concerns are revealed?

K.   Does the novel serve to represent one culture and how it corresponds to those of another? (For example, creation myths, flood myths, etc.)

L.  How does the text reflect the experiences of death and rebirth?

M.    What archetypal events occur in the story? (Quest? Initiation? Scapegoating? Descents into the underworld? Ascents into heaven?)

N.    What archetypal images occur? (Water, rising sun, setting sun, symbolic colors)

O.      What archetypal characters appear in the story? (Mother Earth? Femme Fatal? Wise old man Wanderer?)

P.    What archetypal settings appear? (Garden? Desert?)

Q.     How and why are these archetypes embodied in the work?

SOURCES

The following sources may be used as sources for a Works Cited page:

additional sources