Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FORUM FOR WORLD LITERATURE STUDIES, cilt.16, sa.3, ss.407-419, 2024 (ESCI)
From the
point of view of depth psychology, which focuses on the personal and collective
aspects of the human psyche and is nourished by the theory of psychoanalysis,
seeing dreams and fairy tales as the masked realization of unconsciously
repressed desires, fairy tales are archaic legacies that emerge from the
collective part of the unconscious to the surface of consciousness and are therefore
the projection of collective experiences,. Althouth the manifestations of these
legacies on the surface of consciousness and in fairy tales vary, the hidden meaning
they contain is constant. The intricate relationship between archetypes, dreams,
and fairy tales is predicated on their capacity to convey the fundamental dilemmas
surrounding human existence and development through a symbolic lexicon. Central
to the collective unconscious are archetypes that embody the inner images of
the psyche. Among these, the self represents the core of consciousness, encircled
by the unconscious; the persona encapsulates the individual’s outward spiritual
demeanor; the shadow signifies the repressed aspects of the self; the anima
serves as the integral feminine component within the male unconscious; the animus
reflects the masculine essence within the female; the trickster embodies the
consciousness unbridled by instinctual drives; the wise old man symbolizes the
spirit of nature; and the grandmother archetype oscillates between nurturing and
destructive forces, representing both growth and fear. These archetypal motifs in
fairy tales have garnered considerable attention across various disciplines, including
psychology, linguistics, folklore, and literary studies. Notably, research in archetypal
fairy tale analysis often remains confined to specific national philologies or
lacks a focused examination of femininity. This study seeks to bridge this gap
by comparing representations of femininity across Turkish, German, French,
Italian, and Arabic literary traditions. Employing a Jungian framework through
archetypal criticism, this research aims to elucidate the foundational types of
feminine images present in the collective unconscious, analyzing how these
representations manifest in the narratives of world fairy tales. Furthermore,
it endeavors to delineate the psychological building blocks these feminine
archetypes embody, exploring their correspondence with the fictional worlds
depicted in the aforementioned literary traditions. By examining the
intersections of these archetypal feminine images, this study aspires to
contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how cultural narratives shape and
reflect the complexities of gender identity and the collective psyche across
diverse societies. In doing so, it aims to enrich the discourse on femininity
in fairy tales, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and crosscultural
approach to the analysis of these enduring narratives.