Carl Jung’s Analytical Theory

Carl Jung was an early 20th century psychotherapist and psychiatrist who created the
field of analytical psychology. He is widely considered one of the most important
figures in the history of psychology. He perceived the human mind as made up of an
unconscious divided into two direct parts. The personal unconscious was those
feelings that could not be accessed without therapy and dream work. The universal
unconsciousness was expressed in art, literature and myth and Jungian literary
criticism, focused specifically on the analysis of archetypes in literature and written
mythology.

According to Jung, the goal of all humans is to achieve individuation; a state

where the unconsciousness is known is known and integrated into the conscious
mind. Literature involving any type of hero, but those primarily male, can be
analyzed through the traditional literary criticism by the steps in the “hero journey”
which guides the hero towards individuation.

Not all of Jungian literary criticism examines all individuation process. Two
major points of focus are the integration of the anima, and the larger integration of
the shadow. Conversely, a criticism may simply evaluate the effectiveness as a
particular archetype in a novel. While reading literature in Jungian style, the central
character is viewed as real, while most other character is seen as symbolic
representations of aspect of hero’s conscious self. A woman for example, represents
the anima, the feminine side of the hero’s personality, an antagonist represents
shadow.

Carl Jung’s Archetypes:

Archetypes were a concept introduced by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who
believed that archetypes were models of people, behaviors, or personalities.
Archetypes, he suggested, were inborn tendencies that play a role in influencing
human behavior.

Jung believed that the human psyche was composed of three components: the
ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. [1] According to
Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind while the personal unconscious contains
memories including those that have been suppressed. The collective unconscious is a
unique component in that Jung believed that this part of the psyche served as a form
of psychological inheritance. It contained all of the knowledge and experiences we
share as a species.
 In Jungian psychology, the archetypes represent universal patterns and
images that are part of the collective unconscious. Jung believed that we inherit
these archetypes much the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behavior. All the
most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes," Jung explained in his book
The Structure of the Psyche.

"This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of

science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present
form, they are variants of archetypal ideas created by consciously applying
and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness,
not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway
of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us,"

Jung rejected the concept of tabula rasa or the notion that the human mind is
a blank slate at birth to be written on solely by experience. He believed that the
human mind retains fundamental, unconscious, biological aspects of our ancestors.
These 'primordial images,' as he initially dubbed them, serve as a basic foundation of
how to be human.

These archaic and mythic characters that make up the archetypes reside with
all people from all over the world, Jung believed, at it is these archetypes that
symbolize basic human motivations, values, and personalities. He believed that each
archetype played a role in personality, but felt that most people were dominated by
one specific archetype. The actual way in which an archetype is expressed or
realized depends upon a number of factors including an individual's cultural
influences and unique personal experiences.

Jung identified four major archetypes, but also believed that there was no
limit to the number that may exist. Let's take a closer look at the four main
archetypes described by Jung as well as a few others that are often identified.

The Persona
The persona is how we present ourselves to the world. The word "persona" is
derived from a Latin word that literally means "mask." It is not a literal mask,
however. The persona represents all of the different social masks that we wear
among various groups and situations. It acts to shield the ego from negative images.
According to Jung, “the persona may appear in dreams and take different forms”
Over the course of development, children learn that they must behave in certain
ways in order to fit in with society's expectations and norms. The persona develops
as a social mask to contain all of the primitive urges, impulses, and emotions that are
not considered socially acceptable. The persona archetype allows people to adapt to
the world around them and fit in with the society in which they live. However,
becoming too closely identified with this archetype can lead people to lose sight of
their true selves.

The Shadow
The shadow is an archetype that consists of the sex and life instincts. The
shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas,
weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings. The shadow forms out of our
attempts to adapt to cultural norms and expectations. It is this archetype that
contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society, but also to one's
own personal morals and values. It might include things such as envy, greed,
prejudice, hate, and aggression. This archetype is often described as the darker side
of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown. These latent
dispositions are present in all of us, Jung believed, although people sometimes deny
this element of their own psyche and instead project it on to others. Jung suggested
“that the shadow can appear in dreams or visions and may take a variety of forms.”
It might appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild,
or exotic figure.

The Anima or Animus

The anima is a feminine image in the male psyche, and the animus is a male
image in the female psyche. The anima/animus represents the "true self" rather than
the image we present to others and serves as the primary source of communication
with the collective unconscious. Jung believed that physiological changes as well as
social influences contributed to the development of sex roles and gender identities.
Jung suggested the influence of the animus and anima archetypes were also involved
in this process. According to Jung, “the animus represents the masculine aspect in
women while the anima represented the feminine aspect in men”.
These archetypal images are based upon both what is found in the collective and
personal unconscious. The collective unconscious may contain notions about how
women should behave while personal experience with wives, girlfriends, sisters, and
mothers contribute to more personal images of women.

In many cultures, however, men and women are encouraged to adopt traditional and
often rigid gender roles. Jung suggested that “this discouragement of men exploring
their feminine aspects and women exploring their masculine aspects served to
undermine psychological development.”

The Self
The self is an archetype that represents the unified unconsciousness and
consciousness of an individual. Creating the self occurs through a process known as
individuation, in which the various aspects of personality are integrated. Jung often
represented the self as a circle, square, or mandala.

The self archetype represents the unified psyche as a whole. Jung suggested
that there were two different centers of personality. The ego makes up the center of
consciousness, but it is the self that lies at the center of personality. Personality
encompasses not only consciousness, but also the ego and the unconscious mind.
You can think of this by imagining a circle with a dot right at the center. The entire
circle makes up the self, where the small dot in the middle represents the ego.

For Jung, the ultimate aim was for an individual to achieve a sense of
cohesive self, similar in many ways to Maslow's concept of self-actualization.

Other Archetypes
Jung suggested that the number of existing archetypes was not static or fixed.
Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or combine at any given time. The
following are just a few of the various archetypes that Jung described: [1]

The father: Authority figure; stern; powerful.

The mother: Nurturing; comforting.

The child: Longing for innocence; rebirth; salvation.

The wise old man: Guidance; knowledge; wisdom.

The hero: Champion; defender; rescuer.

The maiden: Innocence; desire; purity.

The trickster: Deceiver; liar; trouble-maker.