A Journey of Self-realization—An Interpretation of My Antonia With the Perspective of Jung’s Archetype Theory

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.200826.019How to use a DOI?

Keywords

My Antonia, Jung’s Archetype Theory, Persona, Animus, Individuation

Abstract

As one of the classic “Nebraska Prairie” series novels, My Antonia can be regarded as a song of women’s growth, praising women’s persevering, pioneering and aggressive spirit. The author, Willa Cather, in the story portrays Antonia, a female character who insists on resisting the male authority of the patriarchal society and seeking self-identity. In the process of searching for her identity, Antonia grows from innocence to maturity, walking out of confusion and finding her own place. Through careful reading, it is not difficult to find that the process of Antonia’s search for herself is actually a process of her inner world’s continuous exploration and change, as well as constant adjustment and improvement of her thoughts. This psychological change process is actually suitable for further interpretation with the help of Jung’s archetype theory, which is rarely used to interpret this work. From the perspective of archetype theory, Antonia’s blind obedience to male power in the early period is due to her persona occupying a dominant position in her psychic structure, and later the awakening of animus in her subconsciousness promotes the development of masculinity in her character. She becomes independent and brave and shoulders the responsibility of her family. And finally, overcoming the obstacles of life and realizing her own value are the performances of Antonia’s successful individuation. Therefore, this paper will mainly interpret Antonia’s mental growth from three aspects of her persona, animus and successful individuation, as well as revealing the necessity and significance for individuals of appropriately adjusting various psychic factors and making them in a harmonious and balanced state.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ruilin Yang
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/08/28
TI  - A Journey of Self-realization—An Interpretation of My Antonia With the Perspective of Jung’s Archetype Theory
BT  - Proceedings of the 2020 4th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 92
EP  - 97
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200826.019
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.200826.019
ID  - Yang2020
ER  -