The Virgin's Promise. Kim Hudson
they easily remember that moment after it’s over.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung explored the concept of archetypes and proposed that there is a consistent set of archetypes in every human. He suggested our collective unconscious causes us to be drawn to these images and behaviors because they give us a sense of direction, meaning in life, and a feeling of euphoria (Stein, 100). This is the reason we look to archetypal structure when we write.
Basics of Jungian Theory
Carl Jung set out to map the terra incognita of the human soul. Over his lifetime he developed his theory of archetypes. On one level, the theory is complicated, attempting to explain the ego and the soul, and many abstract thoughts in between. On another level, the theory refers to aspects of ourselves as humans and is therefore very familiar.
Jung proposed that we have three psychic levels: the conscious, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The conscious houses our memory and understanding of the events of our daily life. The personal unconscious contains those life experiences and memories that are repressed or not understood. They are acquired through life experience and therefore are not common to everyone (Jung, 1976, 38). The third psychic level, the collective unconscious, is inherited and common to all people, now and through out history. This is where the archetypes reside.
The theories of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler deal mainly with the second psychic level, the personal unconscious. These theories are working with complexes, which develop as a result of a personal trauma. A complex is a pattern of behavior a belief designed to protect oneself from repeating actions that previously caused pain. They work on a level of which we are not consciously aware. For example, Freud is said to have had a repressed history of sexual entanglement with his sister-in-law, which resulted in his seeing most issues through a sexual lens (Jung, 1976, xvi). Adler experienced strong sibling rivalry which caused him to focus on interpersonal power dynamics and resulted in his theory of the urge for self-assertion, the drive to get the most you can for yourself (Jung, 1976, xv,61).
Problems often arise when the complex, designed when resources were limited, keeps operating in an adult. Sometimes the complex grows and adapts itself to new situations. The Joker in Dark Knight is a strong example of a character driven by an unconscious complex created by an earlier life experience. The Joker is constantly asserting that all humans are self-focused and self-preserving to the detriment of others. He unconsciously developed this belief, possibly to explain the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. Rather than believe his father did not love him, he sets out to prove all humans are predisposed to sadistic behavior.
The complexes of Freud and Adler differ from Jung’s theory of archetypes in two major ways. First, complexes are based on events that originated in the conscious and were pushed to the personal unconscious. They are dependent on the personal history of an individual for their development. In contrast, we are born with archetypes and their patterns of behavior.
Second, Jung believed the human psyche has a mechanism to look backward after a crisis, and a mechanism to look forward when facing a challenge. Complexes are meant to stop physical and psychological movement into the unknown. Archetypes are “patterns of instinctual behavior” (Jung, 1976, 61) humans can invoke to gain insights into how to move ahead. Through dreams, myths, and fairy tales, with their inherent archetypal patterns, we are pointed towards “a higher potential health, not simply backward to past crises” (Jung, 1976, xxii). In many ways these two mechanisms keep us balanced between safety and risk. Complexes create protective barriers and archetypes act as guides towards greater human potentials.
Jung described archetypes as both a source of psychic symbols and a predisposition to react, behave and inter act in a certain way (in movie terms they are analogous to both a character and a character arc). These two aspects make archetypes very powerful. He felt they carry the energy that ultimately creates civilization and culture (Stein, 4, 85).
Archetypes have a light and a shadow side, both of which are important for going through transformations. Light side archetypes such as the Virgin and Hero represent the higher human potential. Shadow characters, for example the Whore and the Coward, represent the counterpart, which either becomes the starting point for growth, the inspiration for growth or a point of reference.
The shadow side archetype may represent the immature, stunted aspect of each stage of life (Moore, xvii) and has several functions in story telling. It may be the position from which the protagonist will grow. The Virgin has a moment as the Whore who sells her dream to appease others. The Hero starts out as the Coward, refusing to go on the adventure. The shadow may also represent the consequence of not going through the archetypal journey, as in a cautionary tale. More often, shadow side characters, or archetypes, make great antagonists whose function is to propel the protagonist forward on his/her journey.
The shadow side archetype is inherently the opposite of its light side archetype. Viewing them as a pair of opposites highlights the important aspects of each archetype. you see more clearly what it is by looking at what it is not. The shadow defines the light. For example, the Virgin moves towards joy to realize her dream. The Whore feels victimized and loses her autonomy to the control of others and their fantasies. The Virgin is a valued commodity and the Whore is scorned by society. The fundamental differences between these two characters add clarity to each of them. The Hero looks braver when the Coward beside him has five good reasons to run away.
Jung felt that the function of story was to guide us through the universal transformations of life, collectively known as individuation, using archetypes with their symbolic characters and patterns of behavior. The first risk of life is to stand on your own, and take up your individual power. This is the challenge of developing a relationship with yourself and the work of the Virgin and the Hero. The next challenge is to learn to use your power well and join in a partnership with another person, as the Lover/King and Mother/Goddess must do. The final challenge is to join the cosmos, to focus on giving back and letting go and seeing the beauty of one’s insignificance. This task is guided by the Crone and the Mentor. you can refuse to take up these tasks but nobody gets off the planet without facing these challenges. Audiences find meaning in and are entertained by this quest for individuation.
Fairy Tales and Myths
Jung theorized the existence of archetypes after observing that myths and fairy tales of world literature have repeated beats or motifs (Jung, 1965, 392). In Orality and Literacy, philosopher Walter Ong describes how in oral cultures, where the story is memorized, non-essential information is dropped with each retelling, and the core patterns emerge strongly (Ong, 59, 60). The same effect is created in movies, which are delivered in roughly an hour and a half. In order to meet this restriction, the clutter is removed, and the archetypal beats become vivid.
Generally, Virgin stories occur in the realm of fairy tales and Hero stories occur in the realm of mythology. There are exceptions, such as the Virgin themed side-story of Cupid and Psyche found in the Roman writer Lucius Apuleius’s myth, the Golden Ass. However, it is interesting to consider why the Princess / Virgin plays a leading role in many fairy tales while myths often center on the Hero. Possibly this difference is rooted in the internal versus external nature of the Virgin and the Hero journeys, respectively.
In Bruno Bettelheim’s book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, he notes that fairy tales are centered on self-worth and self hood (1989, 6, 7, 24). This is a natural device for the Virgin who seeks to bring her authentic self to life by following her dreams. The Virgin must answer the question: Who do I know myself to be and what do I want to do in the world, separate from what everyone else wants of me?
Fairy tales are presented as stories of casual, everyday life events, which take place in the domestic realm (Bettelheim, 37). The Virgin confronts her central question in her childhood environment with its teachings and expectations because these are the forces that compete in her mind as she seeks to define herself as an individual. Her journey is towards psychological independence.
Myths are centered on themes of place in the world of obligation. This is the realm of the Hero as he seeks to answer the question, “Could I survive in the greater world or am I to forever cling to the nurturing world