Archetypal
Theory
Examining the ideas of
Carl Jung & Northrop Frye
What is an archetype?




Archetypes are universal constants, like blueprints
underlying all forms, images, and behaviors common to all
mankind regardless of race, creed, or color.
They are commonly thought of as roles, like the hero,
trickster, sage, magician, mother, and father.
They are much more varied and translate into conceptual
and psychological realities.
For example- Pregnancy is an archetype because it stands
for bringing new life into the world. Pregnancy can appear
as the birth of a baby, the creation of a novel, or
psychologically making a significant change that brings you
into the world in a new and lively way i.e., an addict who
has reversed his addiction.

Carl Jung
Psychoanalyst

Northrop Frye
Literary Theorist
Humans unconsciously
produce dream images or
“archaic remnants.”
•
These images are shared by
all and reflect a common human
experience. These images are
archetypes.
•
 Exist
because humans all have a tendency to
form basic images, situations, and symbols.
 The
basic archetypal patterns for all humans
remains the same.
 Detailed
representation changes from person
to person, culture to culture, and era to era.
We all use the same psychological cookie cutter ...
... but we decorate or imagine the cookies differently!

Just like bodily instincts – hunger, reproductive
drive ect. – archetypes are formed unconsciously
– without our awareness.

Jung refers to this as the ...
Collective Unconscious – sharing and
reproduction of ideas and images common to
humankind.
 Archetypes
are images that we can all
identify with through the collective
unconscious.
 Often
we will have strong emotional
responses to these archetypes, or
We allow ourselves “to be brought
under their spell.”
- Carl Jung
 Because
archetypes are understood
collectively, they have an important role in
group identity.
 They
are held in common by social groups.
 They
characterize national or community
identities.
 They
form historical legends and literary
histories.
Why should we be interested in archetypes?
Each and everyone of us inherits specific
archetypal behavior patterns handed down
through the generations.
 Our conscious objective awareness of these
patterns can make a huge difference in our life.
 Unconscious patterns get worse with every
generation.
 Jung described this negative accumulation as the
ancestral shadow.

John Kennedy Jr.
Judy Garland
Can archetypes effect our relationships?





Many of us operate within an inherited archetypal
family structure.
Unconscious complexes within us can engulf our ego
and take over.
For example- power trips, avarice, over-possessiveness,
jealousy, depression, abusive anger etc., all have an
archetypal pattern working at its core.
Even loving relationships can have a negative side that
creates crippling co-dependence.
If one is in the grips of an archetypal pattern, it is
difficult to break the cycle. However, the goal is to
identify the pattern and break it.
Example- Child abuse or addiction
Situational Archetypes

The Quest- This motif describes the search for someone or some talisman which,
when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land, the desolation
of it mirrored by a leader’s illness or disability.

The Task- This refers to a possibly superhuman feat that must be accomplished in
order to fulfill the ultimate goal.

The Journey- The journey sends the hero in search for some truth of information
necessary to restore fertility, justice, and /or harmony to the kingdom. The journey
includes a series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way.

The Initiation- This situation refers to the moment, usually psychologically, in which
an individual comes into maturity. He or she gains a new awareness into the nature
of circumstances and problems and understand his or her responsibility for trying to
resolve the dilemma.

Death and Rebirth- The most common of all situational archetypes; this motif grows
out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. It refers to
those situations in which someone or something, concrete and/or metaphysical dies,
yet is accompanied by some sign of birth or rebirth.

The Fall- This archetype describes a descent in actions from a higher to a lower
state of being, an experience which might involve defilement, moral imperfection,
and/or loss of innocence. This fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of
paradise as penalty for disobedience and/or moral transgression.

Battle Between Good and Evil- These situations pit obvious forces which represent
good and evil against one another. Typically, good ultimately triumphs over evil
despite great odds.
Character Archetypes
The Hero- This character is the one ultimately
who may fulfill a necessary task and who will
restore fertility, harmony, and/or justice to a
community.
 Mentors-
These individuals serve as teachers
or counselors to the initiates. Sometimes
they work as role models and often serve as
father or mother figures. They teach by
example the skills necessary to survive the
journey or quest.
 Hunting
Group of Companions
These loyal companions are willing to face any
number of perils in order to be together.
 Loyal
Retainers
These individuals are like the noble sidekicks
to the hero. Their duty is to protect the
hero. Often the retainers reflects the hero’s
nobility.
 Friendly
Beast
These animals assist the hero and reflect that
nature is on the hero’s side.
 The
Devil Figure
This character represents evil incarnate. He or
she may offer worldly goods, fame, or
knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for
possession of the soul or integrity. This
figure’s main air is to oppose the hero in his
or her quest.
 The
Outcast
This figure is banished from a community for
some crime(real or imagined). The outcast is
usually destined to become a wanderer.
Simon- Lord of the Flies
 The
Earth Mother
This character is symbolic of fulfillment,
abundance, and fertility; offers spiritual and
emotional nourishment to those who she
contacts; often depicted in earth colors and
womanly shaped.
 The
Temptress
This character is characterized by sensuous
beauty; she is one whose physical attraction
may bring about the hero’s downfall.
Ginger- Gilligan's Island
Vesper Lynd- Casino Royale
Roxy
 The
Unfaithful Wife
This woman, married to a man she sees as dull
or distant, is attracted to a more virile or
interesting man.
 The
Damsel in Distress
This vulnerable woman must be rescued by the
hero. She also may be used as a trap, by an
evil figure, to ensnare the hero.
 The
Witch
A woman, often a hag, (though she may be
disguised as a beautiful young woman), who
attempts to trap and destroy the protagonist.
 The
Star-Crossed Lovers
These two characters are engaged in a love
affair that is fated to end in tragedy for one
or both due to the disapproval of society,
friends, family, or the gods.
 The
Trickster / The Fool
This character often tricks others to get them
to do what he or she wants; they can be both
virtuous or nefarious.
The Trickster
The Fool
 The
Sage or Wise Old Man
This character is typically represented by a
kind and wise, older father figure who uses
personal knowledge of people and the world,
to help tell stories and offer guidance, that
in a mystical way illuminates to his audience
a sense of who they are and who they might
become.
 The
Mamma’s Boy
This character is typically represented by a
kind but weaker grown man who allows his
mother to control most aspects of his life.
He may have difficulty maintaining a
relationship with a woman.
Other Archetypal Forms
Symbolic Archetypes
Light vs. Darkness- Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual
illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.
Water vs. Desert- Because water is necessary to life and growth, it
commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. Water is used in baptism
services, which symbolizes spiritual births. Similarly, the appearance of
rain in a work of literature can suggest a character’s spiritual rebirth .
Heaven vs. Hell- Humanity has traditionally associated parts of the
universe not accessible to it with the dwelling places of the
primordial forces that govern its world. The skies and
mountaintops house its gods; the bowels of the earth contain the
diabolic forces that inhabit its universe.
Haven vs. Wilderness- Places of safety contrast sharply against the
dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to
regain health and resources.
Supernatural Intervention- The gods intervene on the side of the
hero or sometimes against him.
Fire vs. Ice- Fire represents knowledge, light, and rebirth while ice
like desert represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death.
More Forms
Colors
Black- Chaos, mystery, the unknown, before existence, death, the
unconsciousness, evil
Red- Blood, sacrifice, royalty; violent passion; disorder, sunrise, birth, fire,
emotion, wounds, death, sentiment, mother, Mars, anger, excitement,
heat, stimulation
Green- Hope, growth, envy, Earth, fertility, sensation, vegetation, water,
nature, sympathy, adaptability
White (light)- Purity, peace, innocence, goodness, Spirit, morality, creative
force, spiritual thought
Orange- Fire, pride, ambition, egoism
Blue- Clear sky, the day, the sea, heaven, devotion, innocence, truth,
spirituality, physical soothing and cooling
Violet- Water, nostalgia, memory, advanced spirituality
Gold- Majesty, sun, wealth, corn (life dependency), truth
Silver- Moon, wealth
Clouds/Mist- Mystery, sacredness
More Forms
Numbers
Three- The Trinity, Spirit
Four- Mankind (four limbs), four elements, four seasons
Six- Devil, evil
Seven- Divinity, seven deadly sins, seven days of the week, seven days to
create the world, seven stages of civilization, seven colors of the
rainbow, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Shapes
Oval- Woman, passivity
Triangle- Between heaven and earth, fire, the number 3, trinity, movement
upward, return to origins, light
Square- Pluralism, firmness, stability, material solidity, the number 4
Rectangle- The most rational, most secure
Cross- The tree of life, struggle, martyrdom,
Circle- Heaven, intellect, thought, sun, unity, perfection, eternity, oneness
Spiral- Orbit, growth, deepening, motion, macrocosm, breath, spirit, water
Man and His Symbols
(1964)
How do the archetypes change? Traditional v. Untraditional?

Brothers Grimm
Fairytale

Catherine Warwicke’s
Film
Or
Brothers Grimm
Fairytale

Disney’s
Fairytale
 Symbols,
situations, characters???
 Traditional
or untraditional?
Frye was uninterested about the collective unconscious on the
grounds it was unnecessary: since the unconscious is unknowable
and therefore cannot be studied. For Frye , literary archetypes
“play an essential role in refashioning the material of the universe
into an alternative verbal universe that is humanly intelligible and
viable, because it is adapted to essential human needs and
concerns” (Abrams 224-225).
Frye’s Archetype
•
Is a symbol or image.
•
Appears often and becomes a recognizable
element or pattern in literature.
•
Becomes reflective of our reading experience as
a whole.
•
We understand and make connections between
archetypes because they show up so often in our
literature.
•
There are two basic categories, comedic and
tragic. Each category is subdivided: comedy and
romance for the comedic; tragedy and satire (or
irony) for the tragic.
Each archetypal narrative or “mythos” falls into one of
the four seasons! Each mythos has six phases.
Season
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Narrative
Irony or Satire
Comedy
Romance
Tragedy
Reason for Season
Satire is a “dark” genre; satire is a
disillusioned and mocking form of the
three other genres. It is noted for its
darkness, dissolution, the return of
chaos, and the defeat of the heroic
figure.
Comedy is characterized by the birth of
the hero, revival, and resurrection. It
symbolizes the defeat of winter and
darkness.
Romance culminates life in the seasonal
calendar. Romance culminates with
some sort of triumph, usually marriage.
Tragedy concludes the dying stage of
the seasonal calendar. Tragedy
concludes with the “fall” or demise of
the protagonist.

Winter
Irony or Satire
Theodor Seuss Geisel-
The Lorax-The Lorax is a
political satire about the
environment, written in
the 60s at a time when
America was becoming
more aware of pollution.
The book expresses that
the world is not
going to
change
unless we do
something
about it.
Six Phases

Existent society

Criticism of society without
change

Existent society is replaced
by content or happy society

Individual’s faults targeted

Natural law prevails

World of shock and horror
Result= Darkness and defeat of
the heroic figure
Six Phases
 Ferris Bueller’s Day

Existent society

Criticism of society without
change

Existent society replaced by
happy, content society

Happy society resists change

Reflective of idyllic view

Society ceases to exist
beyond contemplation
Off
Result= Wish-fulfillment and
darkness defeated.
Six Phases
Summer
Romance

The Notebook

Complete innocence

Youthful innocence or
inexperience

Completion of an ideal

Happy society resists change

Reflective of idyllic view

Society ceases to exist
beyond contemplation
Result= Wish fulfillment and
triumph of hero(es)
Fall
Tragedy
 Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Six Phases

Complete innocence

Youthful innocence of
inexperience

Completion of an ideal

Individual’s faults targeted

Natural law prevails

World of shock and horror
Result= Isolation, tyranny, and
the fallen hero
The very scientific ...
Anatomy of Criticism
(1957)
Complete innocence, Youthful innocence
of inexperience, Completion of an ideal,
Happy society resists change, Reflective
of idyllic view, Society ceases to exist
beyond contemplation
Shared: Happy society
resists change, Reflective
of idyllic view, Society
ceases to exist beyond
contemplation
Existent society; Criticism
of society without change;
Existent society replaced
by happy, content society;
Happy society resists
change;
Reflective of idyllic view;
Society ceases to exist
beyond contemplation
Summer: Romance
Shared: Complete innocence,
Youthful innocence of inexperience,
Completion of an ideal
Comedy
Fall:
Sprin
g:
Trag
edy
Com
edy
Shared: Existent society;
Criticism of society without
change; Existent society
replaced by happy, content
society
Complete innocence,
Youthful innocence of
inexperience,
Completion of an ideal,
Individual’s faults
targeted, Natural law
prevails, World of
shock and horror
Tragedy
Winter: Irony & Satire
Existent Society, Criticism of society
without change, Existent society is
replaced by content or happy society,
Individual’s faults targeted, Natural law
prevails, World of shock and horror
Shared: Individual’s faults
targeted, Natural law
prevails, World of shock
and horror
Introduction to the Comedic Phase
Comedic Phase- Comedies focus on the social group, often setting up an
arbitrary law or humorous society and setting out to reform it. The
change, however, is rarely a moral judgment of the wicked, but usually a
social judgment of the absurd instead. The hero’s society, which prevails
in the end, is really a reversal of social standards which recalls a golden
age in the past, an age that usually disappeared before the beginning of
the story.
Example- A typical comedy begins with a young man who wants a young
woman, but there is opposition, usually from the young woman’s father.
In the end a plot twist allows the hero to succeed.
Characters- Hero and Heroine is self-deprecators, often neutral and
uniformed. Another protagonist is the assistant who hatches a scheme to
bring about the hero’s victory. He or she is benevolent and often
produces the happy ending.
Explanation of Comedic Phase

Existent society remains: The absurd society triumphs or remains
undefeated or sometimes, in more ironic cases, dissolves without
anything to take its place.

Criticism of society without change: The hero escapes a
humorous society without transforming it.

Existent society is replaced by happy society: The hero’s society
replaces that of the humorous society.

Happy society resists change: The society at the beginning of the
story remains at the end, but a metamorphosis occurs by a
central character or the members of the society moving into a
new world where a comic resolution and a rebirth are achieved
before the return to the normal world.

Reflective and idyllic view: Movement occurs from a lower world
of confusion to an upper world of order, where a distance
between human experience exists.

Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation: the collapse and
disintegration of comic society occurs, and the story exists in an
isolated place or on a different plane.
Introduction to the Romantic Phase
Romance Phase- Tales from this mythos are marked by extraordinary
persistent nostalgia, and a search for some kind of imaginative golden
age in time or space. These stories typically have virtuous heroes and
beautiful heroines who represent ideas and villains who threaten their
ascendency.
Example- The tale begins with a land that is ruled by a helpless old king
being laid to waste by a dragon. Young people are offered up as sacrifice
until the king’s daughter is sacrificed . Then, the hero arrives, kills the
dragon, marries the king’s daughter, and ascends to the throne.
Characters- The reader’s values are bound up with the hero who
unequivocally represents what is supposed to be right and virtuous. If
the tale rises to the level of a myth, the hero will show signs of divinity,
and the enemy will have demonic qualities.
Explanation of Romantic Phase

Complete Innocence- These stories often relate to the birth of a hero, an
event which is commonly associated with flood or water imagery; it is
common to have a hero locked in ache, symbolizing that fertility and
youth is the real wealth.

Youth Innocence of inexperience- This phase usually presents a pastoral
world, generally pleasant wooded landscape with glades, shaded valleys,
and murmuring brooks. The story tends to center on a youthful hero, still
overshadowed by parents and surrounded by youthful companions.

Completion of the ideal- This is the typical quest where the hero sets out
on an adventure to destroy the monster and evil and return goodness and
fertility to the land.

Happy Society resists change- The hero’s society, which is innocent, is
assaulted by an enemy, which is experience, but it withstands and
survives the assault. This is seen in a allegory or a morality play. It may
be the society or the individual that needs to be defended.

Reflective of the Idyllic View- Here experience and adventure is
contemplated, a similar world as that in the second phase is present, but
with a knowledge that did not previously exist.

Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation- These are tales often told
in quotation marks by one individual to a small group. There is coziness
to this type of tale as it is free from confrontation and has a relaxed or
entertaining tone.
Introduction to the Fall Phase
Fall Phase- In the tragedy, the focus is on individuals. The tragedy is in the
hero’s isolation, not the villain's betrayal. In fact, the villain is often
part of the hero. The story begins with a hero who has comparatively
free will and moves him or her into a world of causation. This world of
causation is dependent on a belief in natural law or fate. It does not
necessarily attempt to answer questions about why these events happen
so much as shows the effects of them.
Characters- Tragic heroes reside at the top of the wheel of fortune,
somewhere between heaven and earth, between paradisal freedom and a
world of bondage. They are inevitable conductors of power: instruments
as well as victims of destruction.
Explanation of the Tragedy Phase






Complete Innocence- The hero who is signified because of his or her
innocence and courage is toppled; the hero is often a female in this
phase.
Youthful Innocence of Inexperience- The heroes are heroines are often
young people first encountering the realities of adulthood. Frequently, a
central character will survive so that the action closes with an
adjustment to mature experience.
Completion of the Ideal- The success of completion of the hero’s
achievement is essential despite his tragic end, and a sense of serenity or
peace often exists after his death because of his final accomplishment.
These tragedies are commonly a sequel to a previous tragic event.
Individual Faults- The hero moves from innocence to experience with his
fall occurring as a result of hubris or hamartia.
Natural Law- Natural Law becomes prominent in these stories,
overshadowing the hero and allowing the audience to look down on the
action. This phase includes any of the existential and fatalistic tragedies
that deal more with metaphysical and theological questions rather than
social or moral ones.
World of Shock or Horror- These stories possess a strong element of
demonic ritual in public punishment and depict a hero in such deep agony
or humiliation that they cannot achieve a poetic prose. Cannibalism,
mutilation, and torture are frequently present in this phase.
Introduction to Irony and Satire
Irony or Satire Phase- Irony and satire parody romance by applying romantic
mythical forms to a more realistic content, which fits them in
unexpected ways. It presents an image where reality rather than
ideology is dominant.
Example- A Goliath is encountered by a tiny David with his sudden and
vicious stones. He is a giant prodded by a cool and observant but almost
invisible enemy into a blind, stampeding fury and then is polished off at
leisure.
Characters- Hero, if there is one, a part of irony and satire is the
disappearance of the heroic. The opponent of the hero is a deceiving or
self-deceived character often the object of ridicule in satire. He or she
often represents conventions which are interpreted as humorous, and
normally stereotypical in nature.
Explanation of Irony and Satire Phase

Existent Society Remains- There is no displacement of the humorous
society in this phase, and the absurdity often does not occur to the
audience until after the story has ended when a realization of the futility
of society is realized. It takes for granted a world that is full of
anomalies, injustices, follies, and crimes that is permanent and
displaceable. It suggest the only way to survive is for one to live with his
or her eyes open and his or her mouth shut.

Criticism of Society without Change- Sources of values and conventions
are ridiculed usually a successful rogue who challenges the society’s
generalizations, theories, and dogmas by showing their ineffectiveness in
the face of reality; the rogue does not, however, offer a positive solution
or create a new society.

Existent Society is Replaced by Happy Society- In irony and satire, this is
accomplished by attacking and criticizing even basic common sense;
there is usually a shift in perspective to show societies in a different
light.

Individual’s Faults- The main emphasis is on the natural cycle, examining
the steady unbroken wheel of fate or fortune.

World of Shock or Horror- This phase presents human life in terms of
largely unrelieved bondage and social tyranny.
Recognizing Patterns in Literature
The following comes from the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster:
Trips tend to become quests to discover self.
Meals together tend to be acts of communion/community or isolation.
Ghosts, vampires, monsters, and evil people and sometimes simply the
antagonist are not about the supernatural, but rather they tend to depict
some sort of exploitation.
Weather matters.
Violence can be both literal and figurative.
Sometimes stories are meant to change us and through us change society.
Keep an eye out for Christ-like figures.
Flying tends to represent freedom. Falling represents imprisonment.
Being dunked or sprinkled with water tends to be a baptism.
Disabilities, scars, and deformities show character and theme.
As you read, consider these ideas.