Jungian Archetypes in Fifth Business

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Jungian Archetypes in Fifth Business Archetypes, discovered by Carl Jung, are behaviours and characteristics that fall under a specific category. These archetypes are part of the collective unconscious, a part of the unconscious mind that is shared by all humankind. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the Jungian archetypes that appear in Fifth Business support the theme that the appearance of things are not always the reality of them. This is shown through five different archetypes, The Hero, The Puer Eternus (also known as The Eternal Boy), The Syzygy (also known as The Divine Couple), The Wise Old Man, and The Great Mother; these specific archetypes play an important role in supporting the main theme. The Hero in Fifth Business is Paul Dempster. The Hero is someone who undergoes a miraculous birth, is born with a talent, and someone who has been orphaned. They set out on a journey and find a mentor to help them hone their skills to defeat the dragon that awaits the hero. Paul is someone who has undoubtedly undergone a miraculous birth as he was born prematurely and has been born with a talent of performing magic tricks. He ran away at a young age and met his mentor who taught him how to perform magic tricks. He set out on a journey, traveling around the world and performing magic. Later in his life, he defeats the dragon which awaited him, Boy Staunton, the person who made Paul's mother, Mary, "simple." Paul's character and his magic tricks symbolizes the clash between the appearance of things and the reality of things which relates to the theme. He learns his first trick, secure and palm six half-crowns at a very young age. This innocent trick was used in the context of revenge, showing the clash of the appearance and reality of things as Paul had used it to take the stone that made Mary "simple" and sent it right back Boy. Boy, the dragon in

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