| Thomas Hardy is notorious for consciously lacing his writing with an often distracting number of allusions. Since some of these allude to myth, it is not surprising that an archetypal pattern based on myth might be present in his novels. Following Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, Richard Hughes uses four myths (Narcissus, Dionysos, Orpheus, and Christ) to illustrate the phases of the archetypal quest for self-identity. Three of Hardy's novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Woodlanders, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles, reflect different aspects of the Dionysos myth. The novels contain situations, images, and patterns associated with this myth: disguise, doubling, vegetation, intoxication, femininity, madness, paradox and ambiguity. The protagonists achieve differing levels of self-awareness, based on their ability to accept the Dionysian (or unconscious) aspects of their personality. |
