AnArchetypalAnalysisonThePilgrim’sProgress

楊洛琪

【Abstract】John Bunyan （1628-1688） is one of the most remarkable figures in 17th century English literature.He is famous for his authorship of The Pilgrims Progress and becomes one of the worlds most widely-read Christian writers.This thesis attempts to use the archetypal theories to analyze the archetypes on Christian culture in The Pilgrims Progress.According to the theory of archetype， Bunyans use of biblical images and themes can be called archetypes.Therefore， this thesis tries to explore the underlying archetypal elements so as to represent its literary treasures by resorting to the theory of archetypal criticism.

【Key words】The Pilgrims Progress； archetype； biblical images； theme

【摘要】約翰·班揚是十七世紀英國文學史上最偉大的作家之一，其著作《天路歷程》讓他成為最受歡迎的基督教作家。本文從原型批評理論的角度闡釋了《天路歷程》中來自基督教的文化原型。這些原型涉及作品的圣經(jīng)意象：水和主題兩個方面。從原型角度研究了《天路歷程》的根據(jù)及重要性。

【關(guān)鍵詞】《天路歷程》 原型 圣經(jīng)意象 主題

Introduction

John Bunyan （1628-1688） is one of the most remarkable figures in 17th century English literature.He is famous for his authorship of The Pilgrims Progress and becomes one of the worlds most widely-read Christian writers.The book opens with the authors dream in which he sees a man “with a book in his hand， and a great burden upon his back”.The man is Christian the Pilgrim， the book is the Bible， and the burden on his back is the weight of worldly cares and concerns.It tells how Christian starts his pilgrimage from his home to the Kingdom of Heaven and of his experiences and adventures on his journey.The Pilgrims Progress is saturated with the Bible， and for the obvious reason that its author， Bunyan himself upheld Bible， the Christian scriptures.The only book at Bunyans hand was the Bible， which he read everyday and from which he got strength， encouragements as well as knowledge.The Bible no doubt made his belief in Christianity firmer.Bunyan also thought Christian should do according to the principles of the Bible no matter what kind of situations they were in.

The book is full of images and symbols endowed with Christian color.According to the theory of archetype， Bunyans use of biblical images and themes can be called archetypes.Therefore， this thesis tries to explore the underlying archetypal elements so as to represent its literary treasures by resorting to the theory of archetypal criticism.

Archetypal Interpretation of Biblical Images： Water

Archetypes include many archetypal images， such as water， sun， circle， snake， garden and so on.At ancient times， human beings depend on totem， dream， myth or legend to express archetypal images， among which， sun symbolizes brightness and water purity.

Water is the necessity of humans to survive in the world； it also gives us a clean residential environment.Water plays a more significant role in Christian society which requires all the newly born babies be baptized as the ceremony of spiritual rebirth.The Bible records the famous story of John the Baptist.At the time when Jesus was to be born， his star rose from the East.King Herod was frightened by the prophet that someone who was going to be born the next day would take his position.He ordered all the babies born the next day should be killed.Fortunately， Mary， Jesus mother， escaped the persecution by fleeing to Egypt.So from the birth date no one knew who Jesus was.At that time John the Baptist carried out his duty along the river Jordan.He forecast that a much greater figure was coming to baptize the people whose name was Jesus Christ.Before Jesus was baptized， God never proclaimed that he was “his Son” and nobody knew who Jesus was or whether he was a great man.But he was identified as the savior after baptism.It was water that flushed away his worldliness and made him the unique figure among the people.Since then Jesus carried out his divine responsibility as the savior of the people in distress.Therefore， it was after divine responsibility as the savior of the people in distress.it was after Jesus baptism that he got regeneration.So in the eyes of Jesus water could bring rebirth to mankind.Water is used not only to clean the physical world but also to purify the spiritual world.So water gets its archetypal function as the symbol of rebirth.

The story that Noah survived the flood in the Bible further affirms waters archetypal function as the symbol of rebirth.We know that God created human beings Adam and Eve the world was not as pure as God assumed to be.Sin and evil lay in every corner of the earth just like the opening of Pandoras Box.God was regretted of having created humans and He decided to rush away the dirtiness with the flood.The flood lasted forty days on the earth， only Noah and his family together with the pure animals survived.God was intended to wash off the sins， evils and misdoings on earth， and the whole world got rebirth thoroughly.The stories from the Bible made water to be the emblem of rebirth， that is， the medium for the souls to get regeneration just like the ashes from which the phoenix come to life again in Egyptian mythology.

In The Pilgrims Progress， there is a river on Christians way to the Holy Land； they get refreshed by drinking water form the river and go on their journey energetically and joyfully.What is more， the pilgrims must cross an unusual river at last， or they will not be permitted to enter the Celestial City.Then Christian and Hopeful managed to ford the river and entered the holy world.Thus the river is the boundary between the mortal world and the holy world.Only going across the water can one get spiritual regeneration and remold himself/herself thoroughly and become a new person.In the second part of The Pilgrims Progress， Christiana is the first to cross the river， followed by Mr.Ready to halt， Mr.Despondency， Mr.Honest， Mr.Valiant-for-truth and Mr.Stand-fast， who go through the river smoothly since they hold firm belief in God.

By giving a happy ending to his novel， Bunyan advocates a positive living attitude through his writing.Is his opinion， if one holds steadfast belief in God and determination， prudence and hope in mind， one could overcome hardships and difficult circumstances and make full achievements in the end.

Archetypal Interpretation of Theme

Reviewing the whole process of Christians pilgrimage， we can see Bunyan manages to tell readers that Christians journey lies in a saints perseverance rather than only his salvation， because Christian is already saved only after Christians burden is delivered at the Cross.From then on， all the Christians experiences of his pilgrimage can be considered as the process of becoming a saint.Christians journey is full of battles.Through the constant experiences of difficulties and setbacks in his journey， he feels that he is so weak and powerless.Because it is always at the critical moment， Gods help comes to him， and he is saved out of danger.It is not because what he has done， but because Gods grace and help.In this course， Christian feels he must fight in the strength of Christ， otherwise， he will fail， just as he falls into the Slough of Despond， sinfully listens to Mr.Worldly-Wiseman， is wounded by Apollyon， and locked in Doubting Castle.The result is Christian feels Gods power and wonderful grace more and more.Here “more and more” means “progress”， the pilgrims progress is a progress that Christian realizes his own weakness and limitation more and more， at the same time， he admits the love and grace from God more and more.Naturally， God never reveals himself directly before mankind.Christian usually depends upon divine guidance and illumination of the various dilemmas faced by the struggling Christian.Continually being saved from backsliding by the appearance of his spiritual guide， Evangelist， and other representations of the Word of God， Christian receives advices and supports， largely from the Bible—that focus on Christians attention towards spiritually significant， coming from Evangelist， Interpreter， or elsewhere， results from the constant appearance of ever-new and ever-puzzling events， objects， characters， actions and environments that require definition or interpretation if Christian is to respond appropriately.One of the most significant episodes in Christians journey takes place in the House of Interpreter where， by being shown vivid scenes of spiritual edification， Christian is taught how to formulate spiritual “precepts” from the events and situations to which he is subjected.Christian learns how to form his own “precepts” by using the example precept， promise and threatening technique learned in the House of Interpreter.

Conclusion

Through the analysis of the archetypes in The Pilgrims Progress， we can feel all the hardships and tortuosity Christian experienced on his way to heaven are what everyone will meet on the road of life， they are not only the centralized manifestation of the beauty of virtue and the ugliness of evil， but also the real reflection of universal emotion of mankind and their comprehension moved from life.From Christian， the road of pilgrimage is considered as the preparation for going into the heaven， it is the only road that every Christian must follow or take， and it is inevitable for them to go through rigorous trials.While they are able to face bravely and meet all the challenges because they have wonderful ideal and never ending hope.Here Bunyan finds the common carrier between religious ideal and mankinds world， and the consonance between mankinds feeling and the spirit of Christianity， which not only helps reveal the underlying metaphor of Christian theology but also sheds some light on the Biblical literature of it.After the interpretation to representatives of biblical archetypes in The Pilgrims Progress， the readers of the work will more understand it profoundly； even to extend to other works on Christian literature.

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