Jungian Criticism



Jungian Criticism, is a type of literary analysis named after Carl Jung a student of Sigmund Freud. It is important to understand this, because Freud’s studies influenced those of Carl’s in the way that they both believed in the unconscious mind and the effects it has on humans. Carl Jung perceived the human mind as made up of an unconscious divided into two discreet parts. The personal unconscious was those feelings that could not be accessed without therapy and dream work. The universal unconscious was a shared set of images, called archetypes, common to all people. The universal unconscious was expressed in art, literature and myth, and Jungian literary criticism focused specifically on the analysis of archetypes in literature and written mythology.” The main archetypes described by Jung, are said to be the shadow and the anima/animus (the female and male “other half”). The shadow, is a very common archetype that reflects deeper elements of our psyche . The name makes it clear that it is related to darkness and relates to trouble as well as the unknown. The shadow thus tends not to obey rules, and in doing so may discover new lands or plunge things into chaos and battle. Often the shadow is reflected upon or through someone else, and denied within ourselves. “It can also have a life of its own, as the other. A powerful goal that some undertake is to re-integrate the shadow, the dark side, and the light of the 'real' self. If this can be done effectively, then we can become 'whole' once again, bringing together that which was once again, bringing together that which was once split from us.” “While reading literature in Jungian literary criticism, the central character is viewed as real, while most other characters are seen as symbolic representations of aspects of the hero’s unconscious self.” Many times it is assumed that stories under the Jungian criticism are linked to mankind’s past or are based on mythic models. Many believe that Jungian literary criticism is a way to understand the psychological struggle of the human to overcome hidden thoughts and feelings, a struggle common to us all. “The anima/animus represents our true self, as opposed to the masks we wear every day and is the source of our creativity.” “Whilst men have an fundamental anima and women an animus, each may also have the other, just as men have a feminine side and women a masculine. Jung saw men as having one dominant anima, contributed to by female members of his family, whilst women have a more complex, variable animus, perhaps made of several parts.
Jung theorized the development of the anima/animus as beginning with infant projection onto the mother, then projecting onto prospective partners until a lasting relationship can be found.” According to Jung man shares knowledge, experiences, images with entire human race, resulting in archetypes that affect how people respond to life--when certain images are in lit, they call up our archetypal feelings




http://changingminds.org/explanations/identity/jung_archetypes.htm/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/04/
http://web.olivet.edu/english/rbelcher/lit310/310PSY.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-jungian-literary-criticism.htm