A Jungian Reading Of Brett Ashley In The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises is one of representative works by Ernest Hemingway. Since its publication in 1926, the novel has received more than due attention. Indeed, it's justifiable to say that critics have almost exhausted the study of the novel. A series of literary theories, such as feminism, stucturalism, impressionism, post-modernism and ecocriticism have been applied to interpreting the novel and its writer, and the various and even contradictory interpretation of the novel just validates its complexity, profoundness, and value of in-depth analysis.Brett Ashley was the central character in the novel, as she caused all the clashes directly or indirectly, which also explained the reason why she was always the focus of attention in critical world. A lot of critics held negative attitudes towards Brett for her superficial promiscuity and thus labeled her as a "bitch." Consequently, Hemingway has long been accused of a misogynist due to the depiction of Brett as a destructive woman. Different from others' perspective of literary study, this paper attempts to reexamine the novel and its female protagonist from psychoanalytic perspective. By applying Jung's theory of personal and collective unconscious to the interpretation of the main characters'psyche and personality, it can be discovered that Brett appeared as a new woman in a specific social and historical context who stood way ahead in her era, meanwhile, she was also a contradictory woman who failed to break completely away from patriarchal bondage. Based on an in-depth analysis of the characters and aided by Jung's perspectives to shed light on Hemingway's persona, the paper argues that Hemingway was not a misogynist but a writer with androgynous perspective. Although Hemingway held ambivalent attitude towards females, his attitude towards women was on the whole positive and his works vividly and accurately depicted lives of men and women in his era.