The orphan archetype in folk and fairy tales.

摘要

Resident within the human unconscious are myth-forming, typical structural elements which are called archetypes. Archetypes may be expressed personally, arising from the individual's unconscious in dreams, daydreams, or through other manifestations, or collectively, arising through the art, myths, and literature of a people. Theoretically, these archetypal forms are constant from age to age and culture to culture. Every culture and time has its orphan tales with their motifs of helplessness and abandonment, illustrating how precarious is the psychic possibility of wholeness. This project researches the orphaned or abandoned child figure in myths, fables, and folk tales from around the world, depicting him as an archetypal figure in his own right, and giving the orphan a true home in the literature.