Archetypal Theory

Archetypal Theory

The origin of the theory can be traced back to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

The origin of the theory can be traced back to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

...who just happened to be a disciple of Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysis

The theory of psychoanalysis asserts all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories.

Conscious Mind

thoughts, perceptions, use of five senses

Subconscious Mind

accessible memories, stored knowledge, habits, values, beliefs

forgotten or repressed memories, repressed emotions, socially unacceptable desires and ideas, violent motives, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, traumatic memories

Unconscious Mind

According to Freud, the unconscious mind is under constant lock and key—we can't access it except by interpreting our dreams.

The goal of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed memories and emotions by making the unconscious conscious. Only then can the person be "cured."

Freud and Jung's theories about psychoanalysis diverged when it came to the matter of the unconscious mind.

Freud studied the negative and neurotic behavior of the unconscious mind.

Jung studied the health-giving potential of the unconscious mind.

Jung proposed that another, deeper layer existed in the unconscious mind—a kind of mental and emotional "DNA" that we inherit from our ancestors all the way back to the origin of man. He called this the collective unconscious.

Conscious Thought

thoughts, perceptions, use of five senses

accessible memories, stored knowledge, habits, values, beliefs

Subconscious Thought

forgotten or repressed memories, repressed emotions, socially unacceptable desires and ideas, violent motives, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, traumatic memories

Personal Unconscious

deep-seated beliefs and instincts (spirituality, sexual behavior, phobias, concepts of right and wrong)

Collective Unconscious

The content of this collective unconscious consists of the cumulative knowledge, experiences, and images of the entire human race.

By now you should understand the basic definition of the collective unconscious.

Jung asserted that we can study the collective unconscious by studying literature, particularly myths.

Time for an activity! Each student will read a creation myth connected to a particular culture. A creation myth explains how the universe, earth, and life began. As you read, complete your assigned task as described on Google Classroom.

Jung recognized that certain characters, symbols, situations, plot patterns, and themes kept appearing over and over in every culture and in every time period of human history.

existing or true at all times or in all places describes an idea or concept that applies to everyone regardless of cultural differences, geographic location, or historical era

Jung called these reoccurring patterns archetypes.

The word is derived from Greek roots. arche - original, beginning typos - model, pattern, imprint

Archetypes are divided into three major categories:

characters symbols situations

Questions that archetypal critics ask when they analyze a piece of literature:

1. What archetypes are present?
2. How do these archetypes influence the theme of the work?
3. What do the archetypes suggest about human nature — our universal hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses?