An Analysis Of Hurstwood’s Marriage Lyagedy From The Perspective Of Jungian Archetypal Theory

Theodore Dreiser (1871—1945) was one of the greatest writers in the history ofthe20thcentury American literature. He creates a series of tragic figures in his novels,which are full of heavy tragic color. Dreiser’s masterpiece Sister Carrie, published in1900, has long been a hot topic in the field of American studies. Especially afterDreiser’s reputation as a leading American writer was established around the time ofthe First World War, Sister Carrie has been central to the discussions of the tragedyof American life in the20thcentury. Hurstwood, the male protagonist in Sister Carrie,commits suicide after his two marriages fail. For such a marriage tragedy, it isnecessary to explore what is his psychological factor that leads to such situation.Nevertheless, many current studies merely focus on its external causes or simplyascribe it to Hurstwood’s lust and passion.The purpose of thesis is to further interpret the psychological causes ofHurstwood’s marital tragedy through the angle of Jungian archetypal theory, by briefstudies of the main archetypes of the “anima, persona, shadow and self” asrepresented in Sister Carrie. At first, this thesis analyzes the influence of animaprojection on Hurstwood’s marriage. The blind projection leads to Hurstwood’s wrongcognition of Julia and Carrie. Consequently, it takes a toll on Hurstwood’s twomarriages. Hurstwood’s two marriages turn sour due to the inflation of his persona.The persona of “model husband”, which conflicts with his anima projection, bringsabout his artificial behavior and thus his relationship with Julia deteriorates. Besides,the inflation of “senior manager” leads to his failure in professional transition and he becomes depressed and cash-strapped. Thus materialized Carrie, the seeminglyinnocent anima, begins to complain. His two marriages permanently break downbecause of the fierce conflict between persona and shadow. Afterwards Hurstwood isreduced to begging and he eventually commits suicide. Hence the unharmonious stateof anima, persona and shadow directly leads to his marriage tragedy. At last, theauthor of thesis tries to probe into the root of the disharmonious state of archetypes.This thesis makes an in-depth research through Jungian archetypal theory intothe psychological cause of Hurstwood’s marriage tragedy in Sister Carrie. It is foundthat it is the conflict among his three psychological archetypes and the failure of selfthat have caused such tragic ending. This thesis shows the importance to realize andadjust one’s archetypes to an appropriate range for a harmonious psyche. Besides, italso indicate the true basis of marriage: the mutual understanding and mutual love.