Archetypal Theory

•Archetypal Theory 

•As applied to the Scarlet Letter

•What is archetypal criticism?

•A sub- category of psychoanalytic theory

•Derived from the ideas of Carl Jung who claims…

•Collective unconscious: literature is the manifestation, not of an author’s individual desires, but of desires that were once held by all of humanity but are now repressed because of the advent of civilization.

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•Evidence:

Flood stories.

Creation stories.

Hero’s journey.

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•Collective unconscious is made of archetypes which are repeated characters that occur in all literature in all cultures.

•Archetypes

•Mother: all people are born seeking… mother earth

•Shadow/ snake/ devil; the evil we are capable of

•Personal: public image of self

•Father: authority figure

•Child: salvation, rebirth

•Hero: fights shadow

•Maiden: innocence, purity

•Animal: human relations to natural world

•Trickster: clown, magician, etc.  Makes playful trouble for hero

•What do archetypal critics do?

•They focus on the narrative patterns that can be found repeatedly in literature of all cultures (ex: hero’s journey in the Odyssey and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings…

•They look for archetypal characters.

•Journal

•What archetypal characters can you find in The Scarlet Letter?