Jungean Archetypes in Literature:Some Really

Important Notes

The Man

• Carl Jung is considered to be one of the fathers of modern psychology.

• A contemporary of Sigmund Freud, Jung was interested in what he called the “collective unconscious”

The Psyche

• The whole of who we are – the who, how, what, when and where– Thoughts– Feelings– Behaviors – Experiences– Histories– Our very existence

• There are two parts to our existence:– Conscious– Unconscious

The Personal Versus the Collective Unconscious

• The “collective unconscious” or that • we all share a part of each other’s psyches and

experiences• We share so much it is too much to grasp – the psyche

needs a way to make sense of it, to order the many thoughts, feelings, behaviors and experiences we share

• Use archetypes to understand ourselves and other people

• Are processed and renewed within our unconscious• Made known to our conscious minds

What is an archetype???

• “a universal and recurring image, pattern or motif representing a typical and shared human experience.” -Jung-

• They are part of everyone’s psyche• They are found everywhere in our society• They are revealed to our conscious by

images in life.

Jung’s Main Archetypes:

•The Self•The Persona/Shadow

•The Anima/Animus

Although the number of archetypes is limitless, there are a few particularly

notable, recurring archetypal images:

• The Child

• The Hero

• The Great Mother

• The Wise Old Man/Woman/Sage

• The Trickster or Fox

The Self

• The Self is the regulating center of the psyche

• Helps us develop our identity and the way we uniquely see ourselves, others and the world

• Also known as the ego (helps us adaptively surf our environments)

The Hero

The Willing Hero

The Unwilling Hero

The Tragic Hero

The Persona

• Your “mask”

• The "good impression"

• Also the “imposter”

The Shadow

• The opposite of the ego image.

• It often contains qualities that the ego does not identify with (and sometimes fears), but possesses nonetheless.

• It is the "dark side" of the ego, and the evil that we are capable of is often stored there.

The Shadow, Continued

• Actually, the shadow is amoral

• Early Jung: We have this animal side that comes out.

• It does what it does without thought for consequence.

The Shadow

• It is our instincts – our irrational, inhuman and brutal side that lurks below consciousness…….

• Why repressed?– Shame– Fear We don’t like what we see– Disgust

Anima/Animus

• the unconscious or true inner self of an individual, as opposed to the persona or outer aspect of the personality.

• In the unconscious of the male, it finds expression as a feminine inner personality: anima;

• in the unconscious of the female, it is expressed as a masculine inner personality: animus.

Animus/Anima

Wise Old Man/Woman (the Sage)

The Child

The Great Mother

The Trickster

Other Common Archetypes

• The threshold guardian

Other Common Archetypes

• The shapeshifter

Other Common Archetypes

• The Healer

Other Common Archetypes

• Death