A Study On Characters In The Painted Veil From The Perspective Of Jung's Archetypal Theory

The Painted Veil is one of Maugham's novels, published in 1925. Close attention to it both from home and abroad arrives in succession when a film maker from Hollywood put the scene of the novel onto screen in 2006. The Painted Veil tells a story about a bacteriologist falling in love with a girl Kitty and wanting to marry her. Under the pressure of public opinion, Kitty accepts Walter's proposal in a rush. They live with an unhappy life after marriage because Kitty does not love her husband at all. Once by chance Kitty gets to know Townsend and falls in love with him in first sight, she begins to have adulterous affairs with him. Facing his wife's infidelity, Walter wants to take Kitty to a cholera city in China intending to punish her. Walter thinks his rage and hatred can be pacified if his wife dies from cholera. However, the result is he dies from cholera, rather his wife, who survives from the edge of death.The Swiss psychologist Jung put forward a dozen of archetypes through his collective unconsciousness theory. Some of the typical ones include anima/animus, persona and self. Anima is the feminine inclination presented in male's unconsciousness, while animus is the masculine inclination presented in female's unconsciousness. This archetype accounts for the love between man and woman as well as the feminine inclination possessed by a man and the masculine inclination possessed by a woman, respectively. Persona is one's spokesman to the world, as it helps him/her to better adapt to the society, but may lead to his/her suffering. Self is one's final aim to reach his/her individuation.The reason Walter falls in love with Kitty, for whom he always exposes himself to some feminine qualities is Kitty meets the image of his anima. And Kitty loves Townsend as he fits the image of her animus. The reason of the unfortunate marriage between Walter and Kitty as well as Walter's tragedy is they wear the persona the society gives them. The reason Kitty can finally defeat her lust and realize her completeness is the successful synthesis of self.By analyzing the psychology of the hero and the heroine with Jung's archetypal theory, this thesis discloses that the primordial images is the reason causing the hero and the heroine to have a series of thoughts and acts, explores the reason causing their psychic trauma and mental depression, digs out the source of their tragic lives and reveals the cause the heroine finally defeats her primitive lust and achieves her completeness. At the same time, hoping to add new perspective for readers to understand this novel, this thesis intends to enrich academic research methods.