The Always Present Mother Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Always Present Mother   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man† (Gen. 2:23). History has shown us that the â€Å"Great Mother† archetype has been with society since the beginning of time. Through stories, songs, poems and thoughts, man has always found the need for the â€Å"Mother† and the women that make this archetype possible. Some are consider myths and legends, while others have been documented in history. Regardless of what they have done or thought to have done, they have made an impact on the way man foresees woman. I will discuss three women characters that play a role in the mother archetype, and explain why these rolls are important to their culture. Demeter will be the first goddess in this examination on the mother archetype, followed by Isis. These women are man made stories, to try and help explain why certain things are the way they are. The last mother archetype I will di scuss was a woman that is still worshipped today, and with the help of man made stories, she has become immortal. This woman is the Virgin Mary. Before this is discussed, I will explain what an archetype is and what traits and similarities one must have to become a â€Å"Mother Archetype†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mother archetype is a term derived from a man by the name of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung was a predecessor of Sigmund Freud. â€Å"According to Jungian psychology the archetypes of the collective unconscious are manifested in similar mythological motifs which are universal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Trachy and Hopkins 166). Jung defines a archetype in many ways. Archetypes appear in conscious as a universal and recurring image, pattern or motif representing a typical human experience. Archetypal images come from the collective unconscious and are the basic concepts of religions, mythologies, legends and Arts†¦they emerge through dreams and visions†¦they convey a sense of transpersonal power which transcend the ego. (Jung 46) The ego is the center of the consciousness and the base of the individual’s experience of subjective identity. The mother archetype has definite qualities of her own, such as, life giving, wisdom, and nurturing traits. Not all the traits of the mother archetype are good. There is the evil side of the mother archetype as well, such as, darkness, witchery and death. All these aspect... ...left at the realization that they are thoughts. These goddess or mother archetypes are brought into our societies to teach man and woman the values in each other. To restore balance in one’s lives. Demeter, she helped to explain strange occurrences in Greece as well as reveal the importance of woman’s traits to give life. Isis, she kept the Egyptian nation strong and united during her reign by being everything at once. Mary, she has had mercy brought into the Christian beliefs against the sometimes stern male God. All three characters are important throughout history, and have managed to keep their legends alive. Works Cited Engelsman, Joan C. The Feminine Dimension of the Divine. Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1997. Epiphanius, Heresies. In Mary In The Document of the Church. Palmer, P.F. ed. London: Burns Oats, 1953. Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997. Hopkins, P., & Trachy, C.L. The Study of Story. North Carolina: Hunter Textbooks Inc.,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1996. Jung, C.G. Collected Works, Volume 9, Part1, Archetypes & the Collective Unconscious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968 (1933)