The Biblical Archetypes in The Bridges of Madison County

摘要

The Bridges of Madison County has been always read as a popular love story, or has been associated with the middle-aged people’s inner worlds. The present paper interprets the novel through archetypal theory. Based on the analysis of archetypal characters and archetypal structures, the paper draws the conclusion that the employment of Biblical archetypes strengthens the tragedy of the novel and provides a new angle in understanding this late 20th novel.