American Indian Mythological Archetypes And Identity Construction In Love Medicine

Louise Erdrich (1954--) is one of the most intelligent contemporary Native American novelists who might be regarded as the witness of the Native American Renaissance. Her works covers a great range from the poetries to the children’s books. Among all her works, Love Medicine has received many rewards after its publication in1984. The novel is imbued with a rich heritage of Indian culture, concentrating on the perplexity and the formation of the identity for Native Americans.With the method of close reading and on the basis of previous studies, the present thesis attempts to interpret the relationship between the Indian myth and the construction of modern Indian identity. It will add a significant apprehension to the interrelationship among the various archetypes in this novel.Through an in-depth analysis of three archetypal images in Love Medicine, the present thesis on the one hand initially explores the harsh living condition and identity dilemma for the modern Indians. On the other hand, these archetypal images manifest the desire to quest for their identity. Besides, by examining the archetypal characters, the present thesis proves that the construction of the Indian identity should be based on the return of the traditional culture. Thus, tribal identity is the first and foremost to be reconstructed. Finally, the analysis of three motifs in Love Medicine reflects Erdrich’s wish to reconstruct the gender identity for its representation of traditional culture as well as the hope of the construction of all Indian’s identity.Based upon the above analyses, the thesis concludes that Love Medicine reflects implicitly the close relationship between Indian myth and the identity construction. Furthermore, by interpreting Love Medicine from the perspective of archetypal criticism, the present thesis will shed a new light for analyzing other Indian works.