The Utilization Of Archetypes In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Coalescing views from anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative religion, mythological criticism explores how the imagination uses myths, symbols to different cultures and epochs. A central concept in mythological is an archetype that analyses symbols and characters to find a deeper construal. This type of literary reprehension was introduced by Carl Jung, who believed that all individuals share an “uncollective unconscious” which denotes a mundane thought between all humans that lies below a person's insensate mind. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley employs the utilization of archetypes and efficaciously demonstrates mythological reproval through the utilization of ecumenical symbols and mundane themes. The Frankenstein myth is especially …show more content…

Unfortunately, the creature soon learns to be scared humans, who, frightened by his look, drive him away with stones and never really give him a chance to learn of his true identity. The real villain in Shelley’s story is neither Dr Frankenstein nor his creation – it's the hateful villagers. Only when experiencing their abuse will Frankenstein become a monster, acting out of revenge on those who refused to relinquish him an opportunity. This is the important myth, the original myth, and it suggests a radically different ethical and social order than the more popular belief of the Frankenstein myth. Overall, archetypes can be found woven throughout the novel Frankenstein in the form of ecumenical symbols and commons themes. In utilizing such archetypes, Mary Shelley engenders a literary work that is cohesive, thought eliciting, and interactive for the reader. Efficaciously utilizing archetypes is homogeneous to engendering a pattern that would reveal the construal to, and form connections with, the reader. This pattern is reason enough as to why archetype is the most German literary reprehension to