Literary archetype and mythological images. Plot archetypes in literature

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Goals:

• educational: to form students’ understanding of the archetype; consider the most famous archetypes in literature using the example of works of world literature and cinema; study the most commonly used archetypes, find out their role in culture and human life, their influence on the worldview;
• developing: increase the role of reading in a person’s life;
• educational: instill a love of literature; contribute to the development of a personality capable of understanding their inner world.

Lesson type: a lesson in learning new knowledge, applying knowledge and developing skills.

During the classes

I. Organizational moment

II. Problematic situation.

Teacher. Name three things that a person never gets tired of looking at.

Answer: fire, water, stars.

Teacher. Why? Build an associative series:

• Fire is a source of light, heat, passion, life, purification, rebirth, ETERNAL...
• O - huge, Olympics
• G - hot
• O - dangerous
• N - necessary, new

Slide 1.

WATER - source, spring, beginning, life, purity, purification, quenching thirst...

• B - moisture, rebirth
• O - rest, ablution
• D - gift, jewel
• A - aura, areola, Avalon, amphora

Slide 2.

STAR - space, universe, mysteriously bright, unusual, unknown, mystery, eternity, infinity...

• Z - calling,
• V - eternity, heights
• E - unity
• Z - Zeus, veil, riddle
• D - distant, a gift from heaven,
• A - astral, astronomy

Slide 3.

Teacher. HOW do we know this, and if we don’t know, do we take it for granted?

Answer: they are so familiar in our lives and so mysterious. What could be more familiar than water, but it’s impossible to even imagine what will happen to us, to all living things, if it’s gone.

Teacher. These are constant, basic concepts, eternal images, universal, fundamental images, without which life on earth is not possible.

III. Motivation for learning activities. Determining the topic and purpose of the lesson.

What is the topic of the lesson?

Archetype

What should we learn? What are the objectives of the lesson?

Find out what an archetype is, when and by whom the term was introduced; consider archetypes that are used in literature; find out their role in human life.

Slide 4.

IV. New topic.

1. Working with terms.

ARCHETYPE (from the Greek - prototype) - a designation of the most general and fundamental original motifs and images that have a universal human character and underlie any artistic construction. Slide 5.

Teacher. In the 20th century, the term was introduced into wide cultural use by the Swiss psychoanalyst and culturologist K.G. Jung (work “On Archetypes”, 1937). Slide 6.

Being in its essence not the image or motive itself, but its scheme, the archetype has the quality of universality, correlating the past and the present, the universal and the individual, the already accomplished and the potentially possible. Slide 7.

Teacher. Archetypes create an image of the world in which we live. God, Fate, Adam and Eve - Man and Woman...

2. Analytical conversation:

What associations do you have? Slide 8.

Answer. Apple of discord, Trojan horse - TROY. Slide 9.

Who knows when the Battle of Troy took place? But everyone knows why and how Troy fell. How many of you have read the myths of Troy, or Homer's Iliad? But everyone knows about her. Why?

EXCALIBUR? Who hasn't heard about King Arthur and his famous sword? Slide 10.

- "Titanic". Slide 11.

Do you know about all the world's disasters? But is there at least one person who has not heard about the famous ship?

So, where do we get knowledge about the world, the universe?

• PHILOSOPHY - the ancestor of all sciences
• MYTHOLOGY - knowledge of the world,
• MYTH - “secret knowledge about the world” passed on to future generations
• ANTIQUE - the cradle of world literature

Slide 12.

Teacher. Why are these stories and characters still alive and used in modern art?

Mythology gave people Gods, titans, heroes...

• Name the mythological heroes.

Who is a hero?

Hero - (from ancient Greek “valiant husband, leader”) - a man of exceptional courage and valor; the main character of a literary work.

• A person who leads performs feats and heroic deeds.

Why does Prometheus, knowing about the punishment, nevertheless steal the divine fire to give to people?

Prometheus is a challenge to the Gods, a challenge to Fate. WHAT defines a person? CHOICE

Can you imagine literature or cinema without a hero? Why?

3. New concepts.

• Literary archetype - frequently repeated images, plots, motifs in folklore and literary works. According to A. Yu. Bolshakova’s definition, a literary archetype is a “end-to-end”, “generative model”, which, despite the fact that it has the ability to external changes, harbors an unchangeable value-semantic core. Slide 13.
• Models of a literary archetype. Slide 14.

1. Writer's personality(for example, scientists speak of Pushkin as an “archaic archetype of the poet”); Slide 15.

2. “Eternal Images”(Hamlet, Don Juan, Don Quixote); Slide 16.

3. Types of heroes.(Prometheus, Batman) Slide 17.

Teacher. Do you think there are similarities between them? Why do we need a hero? How has the image of the hero transformed over the past 20 years?

Answer. Into a superhero. Who is a superhero? Why? Slide 18.

4. Fairy tale characters . (Wolf, Cinderella) Slide 19.

5. Images- symbols. (often natural: flower, sea). Slide 20.

Teacher. One of the main properties of a literary archetype is its typological stability and high degree generalizations.

Slide 21.

Why has the plot of the play “Romeo and Juliet” been used for many centuries: it was known before Shakespeare and is still alive? Why has this tragedy undergone so many stage productions and film adaptations?

Which modern work similar or close to Shakespeare's work, but ends differently? Slide 22.

Why do you think the writer refers to Shakespeare's play?

Stephenie Meyer. New Moon (excerpt)

You know, I've always hated Romeo,” he remarked as the film began.

What's wrong with Romeo? - I asked a little offended. Romeo was one of my favorite fictional characters. Until I met Edward.

Well, first of all, he was with this Rosaleen - don't you think that makes him a little unstable? And then, almost a few minutes before their wedding, he killed Juliet’s relative. It's far from brilliant. Error after error. Couldn't he have destroyed his own happiness somehow more thoroughly?

Teacher. Having passed the test, at the end Edward admits: “Mistake after mistake. I will never judge Romeo again!”

Parallel- Paris - Jacob. ... “I remembered what happened to Paris when Romeo returned. The scene in the book was simple: They are fighting. Paris falls."

Teacher. Stephenie Meyer, she didn’t just take a well-known plot, but rewrote it, changing the ending. Why?

• Compare the plots of “Romeo and Juliet” and “New Moon”. What are the similarities and what are the differences?

Slide 23.

Teacher. In modern literary works, the transformative author's principle comes first. Under the influence of historical and social changes, the literary archetype increasingly reveals actual meaning, “built-in” in artistic design and realized in the work. Examples of fundamental archetypes at the psychological and general cultural levels are the concepts of “house”, “road”, “child”, “mother”. These archetypal principles seem to be dominant in literary works.

6. Remake. Slide 24.

Slide 25. What do you know about “Cinderella”? Do you know how many times it has been filmed?

Teacher. As a child, you all read the fairy tales “Morozko” and “Mistress Blizzard”. Have you ever wondered what they have in common?

7. Plot. Slide 26:

wandering (wandering) plots are an eternal problem, eternal theme. But this plot is not only used, but also processed.

How is the archetype related to the plot? Slide 27.

V. Consolidation.

• Task (work in pairs). Listen carefully to the song and write down the archetypes

Video or audio recording. A. Asadullin. “The Road Without End” (Divine Orpheus) (from the movie “Nicolo Paganini”) Slide 28.

Examination. Slide 29. Archetypes: life, road, infinity (without beginning or end), love, song, crowd, flowers, water, bread, sky, bird, reward, eternity, fire, words, music, beloved, friend, smile, heart, separation, sadness, night.

• Listen to the parable of the cross. Think about what archetypes we are talking about?

Parable of the cross.

One person once decided that his fate was too difficult. And he turned to God with the following request: “Lord, my cross is too heavy and I cannot carry it. All the people I know have much lighter crosses. Could you replace my cross with a lighter one?” And God said: “Okay, I invite you to my storage of crosses - choose the one that you like.”

A man came to the storage room and began to pick out a cross for himself: he tried on all the crosses, and they all seemed too heavy to him. Having gone through all the crosses, he noticed a cross at the very exit, which seemed lighter to him than the others, and said to God: “Let me take this one.” And God answered: “So this is your own cross, which you left at the door before you began to measure the rest.” Suggested answers:

God, cross, fate. VI. Homework

(optionally). Slide 30.

1. Find archetypes in the works you studied.

2. What role do archetypes play in your life.

• Compare what you knew at the beginning of the lesson and what you know now at the end of the lesson:

1. What is an archetype?

2. Who and when introduced this concept?

3. Sources of the archetype

4. Where is the archetype used?

5. Am I using an archetype in my life?

6. Does knowing about an archetype affect my life?

Teacher. Thank you for the lesson. I hope you found it interesting and informative.

An archetype is called general image, embedded in the collective unconscious. Archetypes are constant in every generation and in every culture. This word was introduced into use by C. G. Jung.

Concept

The generally accepted definition of an archetypal image is as follows: it is a term coined by Jung to designate primordial primordial images, universal symbols inherent in the collective unconscious. They appear in the dreams of every person, regardless of race, gender, age.

In psychology, archetypal images allow us to understand the patterns of human behavior and the most likely scenarios for the development of his destiny. After all, these motifs were repeated hundreds of times in legends and myths various peoples. For example, in many fairy tales there is an archetype of a hero defeating a huge dragon. V fairy tale- this is a mother, an old sage, a warrior. It is these characters that make up the collective unconscious.

The word “archetype” itself comes from the Greek roots “archos” - “beginning” and “typos” - “imprint”, “form”. You can also come across the following definition of this term: an archetype is an innate mental pattern that is characteristic of every person, regardless of his cultural background.

Story

The term “archetype” was first used by Freud’s student C. G. Jung in his report entitled “Instinct and the Unconscious.” In the work, the psychoanalyst explains that he took this term from the works of Aurelius Augustine (he speaks about such images in the fifteenth book of his treatise “On the City of God”).

Widespread use of the word “archetype” began in the first half of the 20th century. This happened thanks to the publication of the works of C. G. Jung. This first happened in 1912, when his work entitled “Metamorphoses and Symbols of Libido” was published.

Despite the differences between Jung and Freud, this work was written by a psychoanalyst from the perspective of Freud's concept. In the work, libido was described from the perspective of personification. Jung listed the main images behind which it can hide - hero, demon, mother. Also in this work, the basis was created for the future concept of the journey of an archetypal character - for example, a hero's fight with a dragon.

Motives

In tales and legends there are entire archetypal plots that are repeated in different cultures. An example of such a motive is the struggle between good and evil. Another popular motive is the abduction of a beauty by a snake. Variations of the main motive are possible in different legends. For example, a beauty can be a daughter, mother, etc. A snake can be a scoundrel, a devil, a sorcerer, etc.

The path motif, which involves the hero passing through obstacles on the way to the goal, is also common. This hero could be an ordinary peasant, a prince or a tsar, Ivan the Fool.

Mother: an archetypal image in a fairy tale

Maternal image in folk tales can be represented in three ways:

• Dear mother. She takes care of her child and takes care of him. In childhood and adolescence, such a mother is ideal. But for adult life this archetype is no longer relevant - it does not allow development.
• Evil stepmother. This archetype also refers to the maternal one. However, it contains completely different properties. This archetypal image of the mother is oppressive. Usually she owns the words: “Nothing will come of you,” “Where are you going,” “You can’t change anything,” etc. real life the children of such mothers often find themselves powerless in the face of such destructive attitudes.
• Baba Yaga. Also a maternal archetypal image. In fairy tales, Baba Yaga is not just a parent - she is the Knowing Mother. She knows the secrets of the universe, and she is the true mentor. Baba Yaga inspires the guests of her hut with a new order of life. Miracles can happen in her domain. She is the model of self-loyalty. Baba Yaga is neither evil nor good. This archetype is not overprotective or unnecessarily punitive. Those people in whom it predominates usually know that they will have to reap the fruits of their actions, and joys and misfortunes are generated by themselves.

Other images in folk tales

There are a large number of archetypal images in fairy tales. Each nation also has a lot of fairy tales, but these characters move from one culture to another, practically unchanged in essence. In East Slavic legends these are images of a fool, a hero, Ivan Tsarevich, a friend, Vasilisa the Beautiful, a devil, a mother, Koshchei.

Similar images are also found in Western fairy tales. For example, in Andersen's fairy tale " The Snow Queen“The Queen herself represents the Mother archetype in its negative aspect. Gerda personifies the image of a Friend. The old flower girl is a representative of the Mother archetype in a positive aspect.

Images in the Book of Books

As for archetypal images in the Bible, you can also find a lot of them. For example, the images of man and woman are Adam and Eve, Christ and Mary Magdalene. In the Book of Books there are archetypes of rivals - Jacob and Esau, Cain and Abel. Examples of images of the righteous are Joseph, Noah, and Moses.

Classification by Sh. Bolen. Archetype of Artemis

American author Shinoda Bohlen identified 11 female archetypes. The most important of them, and the most frequently encountered, are Artemis, Athena, Hestia, Hera (Juno), Demeter, Persephone and Aphrodite, Hebe, Fortuna, Hecate. As for the archetypal image of Artemis, it manifests itself most of all in those women who know how to feel their inner integrity, independence from other people’s opinions. Artemis usually chooses male professions, and strives to achieve high results in his career. She is constantly looking for something new. The main thing for Artemis is a feeling of freedom. She does not tolerate any boundaries. On the other hand, Artemis helps her allies defend their personal interests.

Such a lady is characterized by integrity. Artemis follows her principles at the expense of her feelings. THOSE women in whom this archetypal image is most expressed know well what they want from life.

However, the positive qualities of Artemis also have negative sides. Although such a woman is free, internally she is very lonely. She is unable to have strong relationships with other people (although she usually has good friendships with other women). Artemis is unemotional, she lacks feelings.

Aphrodite

The main feature of this archetypal image is its attractiveness to the stronger sex. Aphrodite always radiates warmth. She is charming, even if her appearance does not seem attractive at first glance. Such a woman lives according to the “here and now” principle. She easily immerses herself in emotions and feelings - and it doesn’t matter whether we are talking about relationships or engaging in a creative hobby.

But due to her sensuality, Aphrodite often feels difficulties in those areas of life that relate to ethics, morality, and religiosity. Such a lady may feel guilty for her experiences.

Aphrodite has good relationships with other women, because she is easy and carefree in communication. Although many may see her as a rival, she is sincerely perplexed by this attitude. Aphrodite has no sense of ownership, and in matters of love she is guided by the principle of abundance. “There are enough men for everyone, so don’t get too hung up on one” - this is her basic principle.

Athena

Women, in whom this archetypal image is the main one, like an atmosphere of concentration, composure, and goal achievement. Athena usually doesn't get emotional. And it is precisely this quality that allows her to successfully achieve the solutions she needs and achieve the necessary goals.

Athena is good at working with men. She is guided by logic common sense. Such a lady usually has a large number of varied interests. She knows how to correctly assess her past, and successfully learns from past mistakes.

As a rule, those ladies in whose characters this archetypal image is most expressed have few girlfriends. Athena looks at the world very realistically. Many of the problems of those ladies who see him traditionally are simply incomprehensible to her. Athena is not prone to empty dreams - she simply sets a goal for herself and then achieves it. And such behavior frightens with its power those girls who could become her friends.

As for men, carriers of this personality archetype are usually only interested in strong people who have managed to achieve a lot in their lives. Athena has good intuition, and with her instinct she senses winners. She doesn’t give a damn about the plans and dreams of those gentlemen who only promise her mountains of gold. When does Athena come across interesting person, through deft manipulation she easily directs him in her direction.

Other female images

In addition to the mentioned personality archetypes, the following are also distinguished:

• Hera. This is a typical woman who is a companion for her husband. She is a faithful assistant, but at the same time she has strong feelings of ownership towards him. Hera is the patroness of marriage.
• Demeter. Woman mother. She loves children with all her heart and wants to give them only the best. She personifies the feminine maternal instinct. Even in building relationships with other people, the Demeter woman takes the position of a mother and strives to look after those around her.
• Persephone. "Eternal girl" This type of woman who does not want to grow up. They tend to shift responsibility for their lives onto anyone, but not themselves. Often such a woman or girl falls under the influence of other people. Persephone loves to be the center of attention of the opposite sex, but she cannot be called passionate. Psychologically she is not mature.
• Hebe is the lady who resists her age with all her might. She strives to be forever young, and avoids the slightest manifestations of maturity. The worst thing for her is old age. But she treats men calmly. You wouldn't call her slutty.
• Fortune. A woman with a rather contradictory character. She strives to keep all events under her control, but does not foresee their consequences.
• Nemesis. For a woman with this soul archetype main value is honesty. Ladies with this type of behavior are usually incapable of forgiving injustice.
• Hecate. Quite a deep archetype. The Hecate woman is prone to mystifying all the events that happen in her life. Often, ladies with this archetype image plunge headlong into occult practices - or become deeply religious.

In the same woman there is usually a combination of two or three main archetypes. Sometimes these images can “compete” with each other for primacy. A common example of such rivalry is a woman's desire to have and successful career, And strong family.

Other typologies

Some psychologists believe that there are only three main archetypes in a woman's life. This is the Beloved, the Mother, the Guardian. The first devotes all her strength to serving a man. Mother is responsible for raising children. As for the Guardian, the object of her efforts is herself. It is believed that a lady can be truly happy only if all these images are developed in her.

Greek male images

The following archetypes are distinguished Greek mythology characteristic of men:

• Zeus. Confident, authoritative, inclined to command others.
• Poseidon. A man who is guided by emotions, but, like Zeus, patriarchal instincts are strong in him.
• Hades. A closed man, immersed in his own world.
• Apollo. A harmonious person who takes care of his appearance. Pleasant to talk to.
• Hermes. Smart, insightful man. Loves change, tends to get everything from life at once.
• Ares. Eccentric, lives only by emotions, momentary pleasures.

Other masculine archetypes

Representatives of the stronger sex can also manifest themselves in different ways: as warriors, leaders, kings; and also as hunters and merchants. Others are closer to the archetypes of sages, saints, and shamans.

Men, like women, usually combine several images. As an example, consider Conan the Barbarian. This character is a bright representative of the image of the Warrior. However, he also has strong qualities of a Ruler (he strives to be one), as well as a Philosopher (he loves to study).

An archetypal image in literary criticism is an artistic image that accumulates centuries-old cultural experience, allowing for variability, but at the same time recognizable and intuitively reproduced in a work of art.

Understanding the archetypal image and literary archetype in literary criticism at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries. in some fundamental points it differs from the concept of archetype in the works of C. G. Jung and his followers. Conventionally, all concepts of the archetype can be divided into “Jungian”, in line with psychoanalysis; “mythological” and literary criticism itself.

The word “archetype” itself was borrowed by C. G. Jung from J. Burkhard, although their interpretations of the archetype were fundamentally different. In 1912, Jung suggested that certain prototypes appeared in the unconscious lives of patients. In 1917, Jung writes about the dominant, impersonal constructs that influence a person. In the article “Instinct and the Unconscious” (1919), Jung, using the term “archetype” for the first time, focuses on the fact that the main thing in the archetype is the unconscious image, the external model, and not the content, which can be subject to change. In the article “On the Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious” (1934), Jung explains in detail his understanding of these terms, pointing to the existence of the concept of “archetype” in medieval mystical treatises. The immateriality and imagery of the archetype, from Jung’s point of view, brings this concept closer to Plato’s “eidos” - innate ideas.

"Archetypes" were understood by Jung as "primary images", "repeating patterns of experience" that were preserved in the collective unconscious. According to Jung, the archetype is manifested in plot-related myths of different peoples, in images of dreams and fantasies, in various symbols. Jung also emphasized the dynamic nature of the archetype and its “matrix”, a well-known formality of content.

Since the 1930s the term “archetype” began to be used in various fields of humanities. The further functioning of this term in literary criticism was associated with one of the theoretical and literary schools in the West - with the so-called archetype (in some works the word “archetype” is translated as “archetypal”) criticism (a branch of mythological criticism in Anglo-American literary criticism). The works of M. Bodkin, R. Graves, J. Campbell, G. Knight, F. Wheelwright, N. Fry and others were written in this vein.

In the Soviet period, through criticism of “bourgeois” literary concepts and schools, the reader nevertheless received the main points of interpretation of the archetype in foreign literary criticism. In particular, S. Averintsev’s article “Analytical Psychology” of C.-G. Jung and Patterns was written in this vein creative imagination"(1970). In "Literary encyclopedic dictionary"(1987) has already indicated the possibility of operating this term in domestic literary criticism. In Russian literary criticism, the term “archetype” was also used in the works of E.M. Meletinsky and S.Ya. Senderovich, who critically revised Jung’s theories; V.N. Toporov, who examined in his works archetypal models in the minds of writers. In the 1990-2000s. In Russian literary criticism, works have appeared that use the concept of “archetype” as a key one, and not as a term of analytical psychology and an element of “primitive” thinking, but as a literary category itself.

Bolshakova A.Yu. Literary archetype // Literary studies. - 2001. - No. 6. - P. 169-173.

Meletinsky E.M. Literary archetypes and universals. - M., 2001.

Esalnek A. Archetype // Introduction to literary criticism / Ed. L. Chernets. - M., 2000. - P.30-37.

Frye N. Anatomy of criticism. - Princeton, 1957. - 383 p.

The result of the reworking of psychoanalysis by Carl Gustav Jung was the emergence of a whole complex complex ideas, which were fueled from various fields of knowledge: philosophy, mythology, literature, psychology, archeology, theology. This breadth of mental search, combined with the author’s complex, mysterious style, is the reason for the difficult perception of his psychological theory, which is based on such concepts as archetype and symbol.

Interpretation of the concept in question

Archetypes are translated from Greek as “prototypes”. This term is quite widely used within the framework of theoretical analysis of mythology. It was first introduced by the Swiss psychoanalyst Gustav Jung. In addition to psychology, he also studied existing myths.

According to Jung, archetypes are primary schemes of various images that are reproduced unconsciously and a priori form the activity of the imagination, as a result of which they are embodied, as a rule, in myths, beliefs, dreams, delusional fantasies, works of literature and art.

Archetypal images and motifs are identical in nature (for example, the ubiquitous ancient myth, telling about Flood) and are found in mythologies and spheres of art that are nowhere in contact with each other, which is why one can exclude the explanation of their appearance by borrowing.

But still, archetypes are, first of all, not images themselves, but only their diagrams. In other words, psychological prerequisites, possibility. According to Jung, archetypes have a limited possession of not content, but exceptional formal characteristics.

The schematic image receives its first characteristic only after penetrating into the area of ​​consciousness, while being filled with the material of experience. Jung identifies the form of the archetype with a certain system of axes of a certain crystal, transforming it to a certain extent in the mother solution, despite its lack of material existence. In this regard, the process of myth-making is the transformation of the concept in question into an image. According to the researcher, these are involuntary statements regarding mental events that are unconscious in nature.

Despite its formality, extreme generality, vacuity, a schematic image (archetype) has the property. Psychologists believe that, depending on the degree of their clarity and emotional intensity, they can impress, captivate, and inspire due to the fact that they strive for familiar principles within the framework of human nature. As a consequence, the significance of prototypes for creativity (artistic) arises.

Based on Jung's statements, the secret of the influence of art is the artist's special ability to experience certain archetypal forms, and subsequently display them in works.

One of the best succinct formulations of the concept of archetype comes from Thomas Mann, according to which what is typical in to a greater extent consists of the mythical, since myth is an a priori model, so to speak, the original life form, a scheme outside of time, a formula given by distant ancestors, complete with self-aware life, and implicitly aimed at acquiring anew the signs that were once foreshadowed for it.

Heredity of prototypes

Jung assumed the inherent nature of the concepts under consideration to the entire race (humanity as a whole, its community). In other words, the archetypes of the collective unconscious are inherited. He “gave” the role of the container (“dimensions of the soul”) for prototypes directly to the deep unconscious, which goes beyond the boundaries of the individual.

This concept, in the process of studying myths, aims at searching among the ethnic, typological diversity of corresponding plots, motives of the archetypal core (invariant), which is expressed by them (mythologems) through metaphors, but which cannot be exhausted either by scientific explanation or poetic description.

Examples of archetypes

Nevertheless, Gustav wanted to outline the taxonomy of the concepts under consideration. To do this, he formulated, for example, such archetypes of the unconscious as “ Shadow"(the subhuman unconscious component of the psyche, which Jung identified with the heroes of literary works: Goethe's Mephistopheles in Faust, Sturluson's Loki in the Prose Edda, Hegni in the German epic poem "The Song of the Nibelungs"), " Anima"(the human unconscious principle of the opposite sex, conveyed in the form of images of bisexual creatures from primitive myths, Chinese categories of Yin-Yang, etc.), " Wise old man "(the prototype of the spirit, the meaning hidden behind the chaos of life and presented as a wise wizard, shaman, Nietzsche's Zarathushtra). The mythology of the Great Mother has been archetypally interpreted in various variations (Goddess, witch, norm, moira, Cybele, Demeter, Mother of God, etc.). All these examples reflect the prototype of a higher female being, which embodies the feeling (psychological) of generational change, immortality, and overcoming the so-called power of time.

Jung presents the archetypal role of the images of Prometheus and Epimetheus as opposition in the psyche “ Selves"(individual-personal beginning), in particular its part facing outward (" Person»).

The meaning of the concept in question and the provisions of the doctrine about it

Both of them quite strongly influenced the thoughts and creativity of researchers of religion, myth (Carl Kerenyi, who collaborated with Gustav, Romanian mythologist Mircea Eliade, Indologist Heinrich Zimmer, Islamic scholar Henri Corbin, American mythologist Joseph Campbell, Hebraist Gershom Scholem), literary scholars (Canadian mythologist Northrop Fry, English mythologist Monty Bodkin), theologians, philosophers (German scientist Paul Tillich) and even non-humanitarian scientists (biologist Adolph Portman), prominent figures of art and literature (Herman Hesse, Federico Fellini, Thomas Mann, Ingmar Bergman).

Jung himself was inconsistent in revealing the existing interdependence of archetypes, acting as elements of psychostructures, and mythological images, which are products of primitive consciousness. He understood it first as an analogy, then as an identity, then as the generation of one by another. In this regard, already later literature the term in question is used simply as a designation of general, fundamental, universal human motives (mythological), the original schemes of ideas that underlie any kind of structures (for example, the world tree) without the necessary connection with the so-called Jungianism.

Jung's Basic Archetypes

The number of prototypes within the collective unconscious tends to infinity. But still, a special place in his theoretical system is given to: “Mask”, “Anime” (“Animus”), “Self”, “Shadows”.

Prototype "Mask"

This archetype translated from Latin means guise - the public face of a person. In other words, the way people express themselves within interpersonal relationships. The mask symbolizes the many roles played by a person in accordance with existing social requirements.

In Jung's perception, it serves a purpose: to make a special impression on other people or to hide its true inner essence from them. “Persona” as an archetype is always necessary for a person in order, so to speak, to get along with others within the framework Everyday life. But Jung warned in his concepts about the consequences of endowing this archetype with significance. In particular, the person becomes superficial, shallow, and will be allocated only one single role, he will remain alienated from true colorful emotional experience.

Archetype "Shadow"

This is the opposite of "Mask". “Shadow” is the dark, bad, animal side of the personality, suppressed in a person. This archetype contains human socially unacceptable aggressive and sexual impulses, as well as immoral passions and thoughts. However, she also has a number of positive features.

Jung regarded the “Shadow” as a source of endless vitality, creativity, and spontaneity in the fate of an individual. In accordance with the concept of this researcher, the main function of the Ego is to correct the desired direction of the energy of the archetype in question, curb the harmful side of human nature to a certain extent, allowing one to live in constant harmony with other people, and at the same time openly express one’s impulses, the possibility of enjoying health, a creative life.

Prototypes “Anima”, “Animus”

They concentrate, according to Jung, the innate androgenic human nature. The first archetype identifies the inner female image in a man (the unconscious feminine side), and the second - masculinity in a female representative (unconscious male side).

These human archetypes are based in part on an existing biological fact: human body Both male and female hormones are produced. They evolved, according to Jung, over many centuries within the collective unconscious as a result of experience in the process of interaction with the opposite sex. Some men have become a little “feminized” and women have become “chauvinized” due to many years of cohabitation. Karl argued that these archetypes, like the others, must coexist harmoniously, that is, not upset the overall balance, so as not to provoke inhibition of personality development in the direction of exclusively self-realization.

In other words, a man must show not only masculine qualities, but also his feminine traits, and a woman - vice versa. In a situation where these attributes are undeveloped, this can ultimately lead to one-sided growth and personality functioning.

"Self" as Jung's main archetype

Within the framework of his concept, it is recognized as the most important. The “Self” is the core of personality, which is surrounded by other elements. When the integration of all mental aspects is achieved, a person begins to feel internal unity, integrity, and harmony.

So, in Jung's perception, the evolution of oneself is the primary goal of human life.

The main symbol of the “Self”

It is the “Mandala” (its many types): a halo of a saint, an abstract circle, a rose window, etc. According to Jung's concept, the unity of the “I”, integrity, expressed symbolically in figurative completeness like it, can be found in dreams, myths, fantasies, religious, mystical experiences. This researcher believed that it is religion that acts as a great force that promotes the human desire for completeness and integrity. However, we should not forget that the harmonization of all mental components is a complex process.

He considered it impossible to achieve true balance of all personality structures, unless in middle age. One can say more, the main archetype does not appear until there is a connection, harmonization of all mental aspects (conscious, unconscious). In view of this moment, achieving an already mature “I” requires persistence, constancy, intelligence, and significant life experience.

Innateness of prototypes

There is another interpretation of the concept under consideration. Thus, archetypes are emerging memories, ideas that predispose a person to experience, perceive, and react to various events in a specific way. Of course, in reality this is not entirely true; to clarify, it is more correct to interpret them as predisposing factors influencing the manifestation by people of universal models in behavior: perception, thinking, action as a response to the corresponding object (event).

What is innate here is the immediate tendency to react emotionally, behaviorally, cognitively to certain situations, for example, at the moment of an unexpected collision with any subject (parents, stranger, snake, etc.).

The relationship of prototypes with feelings and thoughts

As mentioned earlier, archetypes are “initial images.” Jung argued that each of them is associated with a certain tendency to express specific types of feelings, thoughts regarding the corresponding situation, object. For example, a child perceives his mother through her real characteristics, colored by unconscious ideas regarding data about the archetypal attributes of the mother: upbringing, dependence, fertility.

Thus, if we summarize all of the above, we get the following: the concept discussed in this article has made invaluable contributions to numerous fields, at its core concepts such as archetype and symbol are concentrated. Jung characterized the first as the prototype, and the second as the means of its expression in human life.

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Literary archetype- frequently repeated images, plots, motifs in folklore and literary works. According to A. Yu. Bolshakova’s definition, a literary archetype is a “end-to-end”, “generative model”, which, despite the fact that it has the ability to external changes, harbors an unchangeable value-semantic core.

Archetype Research

The problem of artistic refraction of archetypes in a literary work attracted the attention of researchers of the 20th century. Archetypal prototypes, or protoforms, as they were defined by C. G. Jung, being a manifestation of the “collective unconscious,” accompany man for centuries and are reflected in mythology, religion, and art. A variety of literary and artistic images and/or motifs grow from a certain archetypal core, conceptually enriching its original “scheme”, “crystal system” (C. G. Jung). In the first half of the 20th century, in line with the psychoanalytic studies of S. Freud, the identification of echoes of mythopoetic consciousness in various cultural levels becomes almost dominant (the mythological-ritual approach of J. J. Frazer, ethnographic - L. Lévy-Bruhl, symbolological - E. Cassirer, structural anthropology of C. Lévi-Strauss). Mythological criticism of the second half of the 20th century builds its research in line with two concepts - relatively speaking, Frazerian (mytho-ritual) and Jungian (archetypal). Representatives of the ritual-mythological school - M. Bodkin (England), N. Fry (Canada), R. Chase and F. Watts (USA) - firstly, were engaged in the discovery of conscious and unconscious mythological motifs in literary and artistic works and, secondly, they paid great attention to the reproduction of ritual schemes of initiation rites, equivalent, according to their ideas, to the psychological archetype of death and rebirth. During the same period, in literary studies there was a growing awareness that no less important in the analysis of a literary work is not so much the reconstruction of the mythopoetic layer as the determination of the ideological load of certain archetypal components. Already M. Bodkin herself notes the paradigm of changes in basic archetypes, a kind of their development in the course of historical and literary development into literary forms, where typological repetition (“long lines,” as the researcher called them) becomes the most important feature. Following Bodkin, A. Yu. Bolshakova speaks about the high degree of generalization and typological stability of the literary archetype. Jung's interpretation of the archetype in literary criticism Soviet period were considered by S. S. Averintsev (article “Analytical Psychology” of C.-G. Jung and the Patterns of Creative Fantasy”) and E. M. Meletinsky (book “Poetics of Myth”). The researchers come to the conclusion that the term “archetype” denotes the most general, fundamental and universal mythological motifs that underlie any artistic and mythological structures “without any obligatory connection with Jungianism as such.” E. M. Meletinsky (“Poetics of Myth”, “Analytical Psychology and the Problem of the Origin of Archetypal Plots”), A. Yu. Bolshakova (“Theory of the Archetype at the Turn of the 20th-21st Centuries”, “Literary Archetype”) believe that in the 20th century, a tendency is developing towards a transition from a purely mythological and psychological understanding of the archetype to the adoption of a model of a literary archetype.

Literary archetype models

A. Bolshakova in her article “Literary Archetype” identifies several meanings of “archetype” as a literary category:

1. writer's individuality (for example, scientists speak of Pushkin as an “archaic archetype of the poet”);
2. “eternal images” (Hamlet, Don Juan, Don Quixote);
3. types of heroes (“mothers”, “children”, etc.);
4. images are symbols, often natural (flower, sea).

One of the main properties of a literary archetype is its typological stability and high degree of generalization. According to A. A. Faustov, an archetype can mean “a universal image or plot element, or their stable combinations of different natures and different scales (up to the author’s archetypes).”

In the literary works of the 20th century, the transformative author’s principle comes first, and the mythopoetic and psychological core of one or another archetype experiences increasing conceptual “tension” of the entire system of artistic coordinates. Under the influence of historical and social changes, the literary archetype increasingly reveals actual meaning, “built-in” into the artistic concept and realized in the work. Examples of fundamental archetypes at the psychological and general cultural levels are the concepts of “house”, “road” and “child”. These archetypal principles, judging by their frequency, seem to be dominant in literary works.

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Notes

Literature

• Averintsev S. S. Archetypes // Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia: in 2 volumes / chapter. ed. S. A. Tokarev. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1992. - T. 1 A-K. - P. 110-111.
• Dmitrovskaya M. A. Transformation of the archetype of the house, or the meaning of the ending of V. Nabokov’s novel “Mashenka” // Archetypal structures of artistic consciousness: Collection of articles. - Ekaterinburg: Ural University, 2001. - Issue. 2. - pp. 92-96.

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