Evaluation of Ölü Bir Deniz Novel in Terms of Archetypes

Abstract

The archetype, which Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, introduced to the psychology literature, is a concept encompassing common cognitive, sensory and behavioral characteristics of the human species. Located in the collective unconscious and revealed through various metaphysical elements, this concept is inherited from generation to generation carried forward to future generations. The main archetypes that Jung focused on ara shadow, persona, anima, animus, mother, old wise man and grandmother. Based on his view, Joseph Campbell added the stage/ego or hero archetype, which consists of three stages: beginning, maturation and return. According to both Jung and Campbell, the archetype, with qualities beyond time and space are found in the oldest texts of humanity and appear in different forms with some changes in todey’s literary works. From this perspective, when Erhan Bener’s novel Ölü Bir Deniz is examined, it is seen that it clearly reflects the existence of many archetypes. It has been determined that the first degree characters in the narrative are compatible with the hero, persona, shadow, anima, animus and grandmother archetypes. Yüksel and Adnan Refik, who are the two main characters, unconsciously bring to the surface the various archetypes they have suppressed in their subconscious to gain societal acceptance, as they begin to confront each other. The emergence of these archetypes, which they have repressed and pushed into the background for many years, illuminates the implicit meaning within the work, enabling a very meaningful reading.