The Psychological Source Of Jacob’s Tragedy In A Mercy

Toni Morrison,the only black American woman writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature,has been regarded as one of the most outstanding contemporary novelists in the world.Her ninth novel A Mercy ranks one of the top ten books in New York Times Book Review annual list since it was published at a time when Barack Obama was elected in 2008.With the theme of separating slavery from racial discrimination,it assumes certain metaphorical power and chronicles the bitterness of all kinds of slaves including blacks,indigenous Indians as well as white contracted farm laborers,revealing the damage done by slavery to both the slaves and the "free"whites’ mentality of being enslaved at the very beginning of colonial period in America,which is an often overlooked historical fact.Morrison has always been famous for black literature and feminism.The research of her novel A Mercy mainly concentrates on black and woman issues,yet the white males haven’t been studied in depth.This thesis probes into the psychological source of Jacob’s tragedy in A Mercy.Based on Jungian archetypal theory and a close reading of Morrison’s delicate description of the "free" white Jacob’s psychological changes in the novel,this thesis argues that Jacob’s destruction,in addition to social reasons,can be mainly attributed to the main archetypes of the "persona" and the "shadow" that manifest in him.It is significant to interpret the mentality of a free white in the light of Jungian archetypal theory so that we can clarify Morrison’s critical standpoint on human nature and better understand the ideological connotation of A Mercy and Morrison’s literary idea.There are four chapters in this thesis.The first chapter briefly introduces Toni Morrison and A Mercy,reviews the domestic and foreign research on the works,presents the research method Jungian archetypal theory and finally states the originality,argument,and structure of this study.The second chapter analyzes Jacob’s"persona"."Persona" plays a very important role in mediating the relationship between individual and external world.If one is too involved in his or her "persona",the personality will become distorted.Jacob expands the "persona" as a kind farmer,a considerate husband and a merciful trader,resulting in the disintegration of his personality.Jacob’s "shadow" will be shown in the third chapter."Shadow" is the dark inside of one’s psyche.Apart from its creativity,it brings destruction to his or her mentality.Jacob fails to recognize his hatred of the inhumanity of slavery,the stigma of "free" identity,his humiliation of children’s death and his desire of a luxurious house,which deepens his egoism and greed and entraps himself in a lost life.Under the effect of the "shadow",he unconsciously destroys the normal relationship with the people around him,turns into an invisible slave owner as well as a slave to money who betrays his heart and finally dies.A conclusion will be drawn in chapter four.Through the analysis of Jacob’s psychology,this thesis tentatively confirms that his tragedy results from the imbalanced archetypes.Jungian archetypal theory has provided a new perspective for the interpretation of this novel and enriched the research on the psyche of the characters.This thesis shows the importance to realize and adjust one’s archetypes to a balanced state for a healthy psyche.Besides,it indicates that kindness is the basic human virtue and warns people against similar tragedies.