Archetypes
What is an archetype? Etymology: The word « archetype » comes from the greek arche (original, primary) and typos (form or model) thus, original/primary model. In other words, an archetype is an original pattern or model that is universal, it is the same across time and across the world, because it pertains to humanity as a whole. You find these archetypes in any kind of fiction and in literature in particular. Here is Carl Jung’s definition of archetypes: « A universally recognizable element that recurs across all literature and life ».
A few examples of archetypes: There are basically two kinds of archetypes: characters and situations/settings. Characters: The hero or savior: he puts his power in the service of others and, if needed, even sacrifices to save them. (also the anti-hero) The scapegoat: the one who gets blamed for everything, regardless of whether he or she is actually at fault. The mentor: the wise man who gives counsel and direction to the young apprentice on his initiatory journey. The vilain or the traitor. The damsel in distress. …etc (Can you find other archetypal characters?)
Situation or settings: The garden of Eden a place of youth and innocence… …vs the Fall, the loss of innocence and the life in a world which is vale of sorrows and tears. The initiatory journey: the path that you take in your life that makes you go through trials and tests, which, if you pass them successfully, make you grow and bring you wisdom to finally become a hero yourself…etc. The quest: the treasure that everybody is looking for, may it be the Holy Grail, or eternal youth, or personal redemption…etc The impossible love or eternal love (sometimes they are linked) The battle between good and evil … etc (Can you find other archetypal situations?)
Archetypal stories: Folklore or mythological stories in particular give blatant examples of similarities in accounts or characters through time and cultures. Every civilization of every period has in its mythology: - An initial paradise preceding historical times A creation story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth) A deluge story (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_myth) A savior story (Every mythology has a savior: Christ, Prometheus, Krishna…etc) that goes through death and resurrection. A fight between good and evil. A hope of an afterlife in which the human being reaches a highest stage …etc.
The origin and purpose of archetypes Carl Jung (a Swiss psychoanalyst) is the first one who really wrote about and brought to light the concept of archetypes. He showed that the same archetypal patterns, themes and symbols could be found in every culture and every time period of human history. According to him this was explained by the fact that humanity has a Universal Unconscious. Indeed, Jung suggested that the psyche was composed of three components: the ego, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind while the personal unconscious contains memories, including those that have been suppressed. The collective unconscious is a unique component in that Jung believed that this part of the psyche served as a form of psychological inheritance. It contains all of the knowledge and experiences we share as a species.
Collective unconscious
The Origins of Archetypes Where do these archetypes come from then? The collective unconscious, Jung believed, was where these archetypes exist. Jung suggested that these models are innate, universal and hereditary. Archetypes are unlearned and act to organize how we experience certain things. What do you think of this theory? Do you agree? What other explanation could you give for the unquestionable existence of these archetypes?
Archetypal literary criticism Northrop Frye is the most famous advocate of archetypal literary criticism. According, to him, it is by looking for and studying the deeper archetypal form of a text that you reach its true meaning. He had a theory in particular linking the natural cycles of the earth and life, archetypes, and literary genres.
daily / seasonal / human cycle myth (based upon an archetypal pattern of human experience) literary genre dawn / spring / birth the birth, revival, resurrection of the hero romance zenith / summer / marriage or triumph the triumph, marriage or apotheosis of the hero comedy; pastoral; idyll sunset / autumn / impending death the fall, sacrifice, isolation or death of the hero tragedy; elegy night / winter / dissolution the unheroic nature of the hero satire
Frye points out that all literary genres are initially “derived from” and thus variations on the “quest myth”. All myths are basically concerned, that is, with some kind of quest to accomplish some sort of goal. Each genre gestures towards a particular kind of human quest, that is, one involving the protagonist in a specific pattern of actions. In other words, the hero may triumph (comedy), fail or be killed (tragedy), be reborn (romance) and/or be the object of criticism rather than adulation (satire). Each pattern of actions and thus each genre are traceable and thus correspond to a particular cycle, especially of the seasons: comedy--summer / midday; tragedy – autumn / dusk; satire – winter / night; and romance --spring / morning. Literary history, he contends, may be divided into particular stages in which any one of the genres/archetypal forms listed above predominate.
As a conclusion, it is important to understand that archetypes always belong to the greater pattern of the journey, a journey initiated by a quest. The hero is on a quest, this quest initiates a journey, a journey that is made possible by all the other archetypal characters, situations that he will find along the way.