Carl Jung: Jungian Archetypes

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung was a student of the unconscious. His work was influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud ("Carl Gustav Jung," par. 5) the founder of modern psychology ("Sigmund Freud," Encylopedia, par. 1).

Freud argued that human psychology was driven by a struggle between those instinctual biological desires common to all creatures, which he called the id and the socially constrained and morally motivated conscience, which he called the superego. The id operates to satisfy its desires, what Freud referred to as the "pleasure principle" and is synonomous with the unconcious mind. The ego or rational self operates according to the "reality principle" which defines how the id can operate within society. The superego, which develops as a result of the rules and sanctions imposed by society on humans from childbirth, creates internal rules to control the ego and limit the expression of the id ("Sigmund Freud," World, par. 5). Freud saw these forces expressing themselves symbolically in an individual's dream life. Since one of the strongest instinctual drives is the sexual appetite and since society has rigorous rules governing the expression of sexuality, "Freud came to believe that mental disorders that have no apparent physiological cause are symbolic reactions to psychological shocks, usually of a sexual nature, and that the memories associated with these shocks, although repressed in the unconscious, indirectly affect the content not only of dreams but of conscious activity" ("Sigmund Freud," World, par. 3). For Freud, the subjective content of dreams was individual and often sexual in nature. His work led to the study of phallic and yonic symbolism in literature.

Jung, on the other hand, disagreed with Freud that the content of dreams was primarily "wish fulfillment" ("Carl Gustav Jung," par. 5. Jung argued for a "collective unconscious," a subconscious resevoir of symbolic imagery common to humanity, which he called archetypes ("Carl Gustav Jung, par. 6; Hall and Nordby 39). These archetypal images in the dreams of individuals he examined bore "an astonishing resemblance to ancient mythological or fairy-tale motifs" which were not known to the dreamers ("Carl Gustav Jung," par. 7).

Among the numerous archetypes that he identified and described are those of birth, rebirth, death, power, magic, the hero, the child, the trickster, God,the demon, the wise old man, the earth mother, the giant, many natural objects like trees, the sun, the moon, wind, rivers, fire, and animals, and many man-made objects such as rings and weapons. (Hall and Nordby 41-2)

Peter Pan Statue in St. John's, Newfoundland, Wikipedia
Early in the story, Peter has lost his shadow and goes looking for it. Jung identified four primary archetypes: the persona, the anima and animus, the shadow, and the self.

Persona: A persona originally referred to a mask worn in classical theater (Abrams and Harpham 226; Hall and Nordby 44). Jung argued that people don masks or personas in their interactions with others in order to make good impressions (Hall and Nordby 44). In literary studies, persona is used to refer to the narrative voice in a work of literature, whether the voice of a fictional character or the voice of the author of the work (Abrams and Harpham 257).

Anima and Animus: Jung believed that men have a feminine side, the anima, and women, a masculine side, the animus (Hall and Nordby 46). These images are "primarily unconscious" "an imprint or archetype of all the ancestral experiences" of the opposite sex (Hall and Nordby 47). For Jung, a balanced personality required that a person be in tune with their anima or animus (Hall and Nordby 46-7). In literature, characters are sometimes paired with a character typifying their anima or animus.For instance, in Star Wars, the sibings Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are paired in this way.

Shadow: Jung saw the shadow as the instinctual, animal side of human nature. Like Freud, Jung saw value in the shadow and believed that integration of the shadow into the personality was essential for psychic health (Hall and Nordby 48-9). In the original Star Trek series, an episode entitled The Enemy Within, Kirk is split into two individuals following a transporter accident, one gentle and moral, the other brash and instinctive (Weisstein). These two Kirks can be interpreted as expressions of Freud's id and superego or Jung's anima and shadow. In the end, the two are rejoined in a scene that emphasizes their mutual dependence on each other. In Star Wars, Darth Vader represents a person driven by the unrestrained shadow.

Self: "The self [italics added] is the central archetype in the collective unconscious. . . . the archetype of order, organization, and unification. . . . [uniting] the personality, giving it a sense of 'oneness.'" Jung argued that all people are engaged in a process of self-realization, which few people attain although religious leaders like Buddha and Christ come close (Hall and Nordby 51).

Jung's work in archetypes influenced many scholars of myth including Claude Lévi-Strauss and Joseph Campbell.

Works Cited

Abrams, M. H. and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2005. Print.

"C(arl) G(ustav) Jung." Contemporary Authors Online. Gale, 2006.Biography Resource Center. Web. 26 June 2006.

"Carl Gustav Jung." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Gale Research, 1998. Biography Resource Center. Web. 26 June 2006.

Hall, Calvin S. and Vernon J. Nordby. A Primer of Jungian Psychology. New York: Mentor, 1973. Print.

"Sigmund Freud." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Gale Research, 1998. Biography Resource Center. Web. 26 June 2006.

"Sigmund Freud." World of Health. Gale Group, 2000. Biography Resource Center. Web. 26 June 2006.

Weisstein, Eric W. "Star Trek Epsiode 5, Season 1: The Enemy Within." 9 Dec. 1997. Eric's Excruciatingly Detailed Star Trek (TOS) Plot Summaries. Web. 26 June 2006. <http://www.ericweisstein.com/fun/startrek/TheEnemyWithin.html>.

HUM 2130 World Mythology