Archetype (concept)

An archetype is a recurring symbolic element that appears across all cultures and carries a universal meaning within human experience. The concept was first developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung, who believed that common patterns reside in the collective unconscious of all humans and manifest themselves in dreams, myths, and literature. Jung based his idea on the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and his concept of universal "forms" of existence. The term archetype comes from the Greek arkhe-, meaning "primitive" or "first," and tupos, meaning "model."

According to Jung, many archetypes exist, each representing a symbolic aspect of the shared human experience. These elements appear in stories and myths from many cultures separated by thousands of years and vast geographical distances. Among the most common ideas are the "hero" archetype, the "wise old man," the "great mother/father," and the "trickster." Building on Jung's theories, author Joseph Campbell developed the concept of the "hero's journey," an underlying element he saw running through all human mythology. Campbell's work was highly influential on modern art and film, as it was one of the primary influences of the original Star Wars saga.

Background

The idea of an archetype can be traced back to the philosophy of Plato, who was born in Greece about 428 BCE. Plato believed that everything in the constantly changing physical world was a reflection of an eternal concept known as a "form." These forms existed in a higher realm and were assumed by the elements of the material world. Mountains, for example, took on the form of "mountain," humans took on the form of "human," a dog took on the form of "dog," and so forth. An individual human may have a name, a personality, and a physical appearance, but when the person died, they ceased to exist in the natural world; however, the form of "human" continued on forever. The early Christian philosopher St. Augustine adapted Plato's concept to a more religious environment, believing the abstract templates of existence to be a type of divine intelligence.

For centuries, the study of the human mind was relegated to the metaphysical realm of philosophy. That began to change by the late nineteenth century when a growing scientific influence led to the rise of psychology. One of the most renowned early pioneers in the field was Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, who theorized that the human mind was divided into three states: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The conscious mind consists of everything humans are aware of; the preconscious mind encompasses memories that can be easily recalled; and the unconscious mind contains thoughts, feelings, and memories that fall outside human awareness.

One of Freud's contemporaries was Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who founded the method of analytical psychology. Jung further split the unconscious mind into two layers. The top level consisted of unconscious thoughts and feelings developed from a person's direct experiences. Jung called the other layer the collective unconscious—a universal, primordial memory shared by all humans. He believed the collective unconscious was passed down through evolution and formed by the constantly repeated experiences of humanity. Jung believed that this part of the mind contained idealized models of shared concepts similar to Plato's forms. These archetypes, as he called them, were recurring symbols, images, and motifs that were common across all human cultures. They made themselves known most often through dreams and were translated into religion, myth, art, and works of literature.

Overview

According to Jung, an unlimited number of archetypes exist, though humans are aware of only a limited number. One of the most important archetypes is the "self," which provides a center, or balance, between the conscious and unconscious minds. The self is represented by common symbols such as a cross, a circle, or a sacred Hindu geometric pattern called a mandala. The "persona," from the Latin word for "mask," represents the public face people assume to make an impression on others. The persona can represent many things, such as the image of how a person wishes to be seen or a way for a person to disguise their true nature.

The "shadow" is considered the primal aspect of the human mind, an element that acts on instinct without the benefit of morals. In Jung's view, the shadow is not evil, though it may be responsible for negative behavior if it impacts the conscious mind. The "anima" and "animus" are representations of the opposite sex on the unconscious mind. The anima, for instance, signifies the feminine side found in males, and the animus denotes the masculine elements of females. The "great mother" archetype represents the womb, fertility, and nurturing earth, while the "great father" personifies the wind, spirituality, and the fertilizing elements of the heavens. Other archetypes of note include the "wise old man," a grandfather figure who signifies the human incarnation of the Great Father. The "trickster," a figure found in mythologies as varied as the Norse Loki to the Native American coyote, is a mischievous character representing change and the rule-breaking, animalistic part of the human psyche.

In 1949, American mythologist Joseph Campbell built on Jung's work and discovered a common pattern represented throughout many centuries of world mythology. In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell focused on the Jungian archetype of the "hero" and found that the hero's quest followed the same basic path, regardless of culture. Campbell's "hero's journey" had several main elements, beginning with the hero living in an ordinary world before receiving a call to adventure. The hero is at first reluctant but is encouraged and pushed by an older mentor to cross the first threshold of the journey. The hero then undergoes a series of tests, encountering both friends and enemies before being forced to cross the second threshold, or inmost cave. There, the hero must endure an ordeal before gaining a reward and being pursued on the road back to their world. They must then pass a third threshold, or resurrection, and be transformed by the experience. They return with the prize, or "elixir," which is of great benefit to their world.

This template of the hero's journey can be seen in mythical tales from the trials of Odysseus in the Odyssey of ancient Greece to the quest of Frodo Baggins in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In the 1970s, filmmaker George Lucas was directly influenced by The Hero with a Thousand Faces, using it as the inspiration for the quest of young Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Bibliography

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