The present analysis is intended to shed some light on Forster& / #8217 / s use of myth, recurrent mythical images and archetypal patterns in his works. This study analyses Forster& / #8217 / s archetypal images making particular references to his major works namely, short stories, Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View, The Longest Journey, Howards End and A Passage to India. The study is confined to the functions and significance of the mythical images and archetypal patterns represented in the aforementioned works. Forster tried to reflect the insecurity and rootlessness of modern life through mythical motifs / he showed a modern man who has become alienated from himself and nature.
Forster& / #8217 / s most obvious use of mythology is found in the short stories, which are fantasies. It is a mythology which stems from earth and nature, the two elements which act as unifying forces throughout his fiction. It is interesting to note further that this preoccupation with earth and nature is carried into all the other novels before A Passage to India. Forster& / #8217 / s use of classical myth and his general attitude toward nature and earth are found in all his fiction.
The method used is archetypal criticism / it deals with archetypes which are primordial images perceived across cultures, inherited from time immemorial, issuing from a & / #8216 / collective unconscious& / #8217 / . An archetype is a mythic symbol, which is deeply rooted in the unconscious, more broadly based on a foundation of universal nature than an ordinary literary symbol, and is more generally expressive of the elemental in man and nature.
Chapter one identifies the dominant archetypal approaches and further selects the most appropriate framework for a study of myth and archetypes in Forster& / #8217 / s work. Chapter two deals with nature archetypes which find their best expression in Forster& / #8217 / s short stories. Chapter three and four focus on Forster& / #8217 / s character archetypes in his A Room with a View, and Where Angels Fear to Tread. Chapter five attempts to explore the tragic and heroic aspects of the character archetypes in The Longest Journey. Chapter six deals with Forster& / #8217 / s use of archetypal symbols in Howards End. Chapter seven focuses on Forster& / #8217 / s prophetic vision in A Passage to India, in which Forster exhibited a prophetic tone of voice and extended the scope of his archetypes.
The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse E. M. Forster& / #8217 / s use of myth, recurrent mythical images and archetypal patterns in his efforts to communicate his vision of life. This study argues that Forster progresses from fantasy to prophecy. Depending on this progress, Forster& / #8217 / s archetypes evolve. This investigation familiarises the reader with how mythical motifs and archetypes enable the author to communicate his vision of reality, which is essentially timeless.
Keywords: Mythology, Archetype
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12605507/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 September 2004 |
| Creators | Madran, Cumhur Yilmaz |
| Contributors | Icoz, Nursel |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Ph.D. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds