Interpretation Of Narcissus And Goldmund From The Perspective Of Psychoanalytic Theory

Narcissus and Goldmund, the famous novel written by Hermann Hesse, is regarded as one of the most attracting novels of all his works. Since its publication, the novel is given a lot of attention by readers of different levels and is loved by them. This paper intends to study this novel and make a new interpretation to the novel from psychoanalytic theory by Carl Gustav Jung. It is carried out as the following:Firstly, the thesis gives a brief introduction to Carl Gustav Jung's psychoanalytic theory and his influence on Hermann Hesse. Secondly, personal unconscious, collective unconscious and archetype are discussed through the analysis of Goldmund's psychological changes in his 3 life stages. What's more, the thesis also analyses the theme of redemption and archetype from aspects of shadow, persona, anima and individuation embodied in the novel for the purpose of interpreting the emergence of individual unconscious and the content of collective unconscious, which aims to give new interpretation to the novel. Finally, the effects of the work are discussed from the perspectives of the writer's creative motivation and the readers' psychological reactions to the work with the hope that more rich content can be found in the novel.