Department of English

M.K.Bhavnagar University

NAME: DAVE NIMESH

ROLL NO.- 18

PAPER NO.-(6) VICTORIAN LITERATURE

PRESENTATION TOPIC:

“OLIVER TWIST’ AS A ‘PUER AETERNUS’ & ‘SENEX’

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2015

Charles DickensBorn 7,February, 1867,

Landport,Hampshire, England.Died 9 June 1870

Kent, England.Notable works

The Pickwick PapersOliver TwistA Christmas CarolDavid copperfieldBleak houseHard TimesLittle DorritA Tale of two citiesGreat Expectations

What is ‘puer aeternus’

‘puer aeternus’ is Latin for eternal boy, used in mythology to designate a child- god who is forever young.

The puer typically leads to a provisional life , due to the fear of being caught in a situation from which it might not be possible to escape.

The puer in mythology

• The word puer aeternus come from Metamorphoses, an epic work by the Roman poet Ovid dealing with Greek and Roman myths . In the poem, Ovid addresses the child god Iacchus as puer aeternus and praises him for his role in the Eleusinian mysteries.

• The puer is god of vegetation and resurrection , the god of divine youth such as Tammuz, Attiz and Adonis.

The puer in Jungian Psychology

Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung developed a school of thought called analytical psychology. in analytical psychology (often called Jungian Psychology) the puer aeternus is an example of what Jung called an Archetype, one of the primordial , structural element of the human psyche.

Carl Jung

senex

• The shadow of the puer is senex ( Latin for “OLD MAN” ) associated with the god Cronus- disciplined, controlled, responsible, rational, ordered.

• The positive side of puer appears as the Divine Child who symbolizes newness, potential for growth, hope for future.

Oliver through out retains the fortitude of saint

• For the first 8 chapters Oliver, an illegitimate child born to his dying mother in work house, context & language show the hero at the behest of unaccountable institutions, run by people driven by ideology, finance & selfishness.

• His Naming• Raise • Run away to London _Fagin & gang pick

pocketing

images

• Oliver will be considered both ‘puer aeternus’ and ‘senex’.

• “ I wished to show, in little Oliver, the principle of good surviving through every adverse circumstances , and triumphing at last”- ‘Dickens's preface to Oliver Twist’.

• Oliver’s unchanging grace makes him an agent of redemption in the fallen angel.

• Oliver is a saint, an unchanging exemplary of sacred essence, a stable icon in a violently fallen world.

Oliver is the representative of the child Archetype in that he brings redemption, over coming darkness and providing a ‘high consciousness’ through his capacity to

overcome or shed light on the unconscious.

Thank you