Mother Archetype

The Always Present Mother “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23). History has shown us that the “Great Mother” archetype has been with society since the beginning of time. Through stories, songs, poems and thoughts, man has always found the need for the “Mother” and the women that make this archetype possible. Some are consider myths and legends, while others have been documented in history. Regardless of what they have done or thought to have done, they have made an impact on the way man foresees woman. I will discuss three women characters that play a role in the mother archetype, and explain why these rolls are important to their culture. Demeter will be the first goddess in this examination on the mother archetype, followed by Isis. These women are man-made stories, to try and help explain why certain things are the way they are. The last mother archetype I will discuss was a woman that is still worshipped today, and with the help of man-made stories, she has become immortal. This woman is the Virgin Mary.

Before this is discussed, I will explain what an archetype is and what traits and similarities one must have to become a “Mother Archetype”. The mother archetype is a term derived from a man by the name of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung was a predecessor of Sigmund Freud. “According to Jungian psychology the archetypes of the collective unconscious are manifested in similar mythological motifs which are universal…” (Trachy and Hopkins 166). Jung defines an archetype in many ways. Archetypes appear in conscious as a universal and recurring image, pattern or motif representing a typical human experience. Archetypal images come from the collective unconscious and are the basic concepts of religions, mythologies, legends and Arts…they emerge through dreams and visions…they convey a sense of transpersonal power which transcend the ego. (Jung 46) The ego is the center of the consciousness and the base of the individual’s experience of subjective identity. The mother archetype has definite qualities of her own, such as, life giving, wisdom, and nurturing traits. Not all the traits of the mother archetype are good. There is the evil side of the mother archetype as well, such as, darkness, witchery and death. All these aspects are taken into consideration when it come to the mother archetype. Which leads me to my first example, Demeter.

Demeter is from Greek mythology, and is known as the goddess of the harvest. Demeter is most known for the story of her daughter, Persephone, being taken away by Hades. Hades was the God of the underworld. The story is to explain why there are seasons and why these seasons are repeated each year. The myth is fairly simple, Hades takes Persephone away from Demeter. Demeter was so sad by this, that she neglected her duties as goddess of the harvest and all the vegetation died. Zeus, who was the God of all gods, demanded that Hades return Persephone to Demeter. Hades did do so, but not without first giving a pomegranate seed to her for her to eat. This seed would make Persephone return to Hades in the underworld for four months each year. Thus giving the world its four months of winter, when no harvest shall grow. Demeter goes through the same cycle of turmoil every time her daughter leaves. Although Demeter, as a woman, appears to have the ability to give life with the harvests and child, she also has the ability to take that life away. This is one of the greatest distinctions of the mother archetype. To associate Demeter with life giving qualities, one can only expect the opposite in return. Her depiction of power of the growth to the harvests is simply man’s representation of his own views on woman and their ability to give life and the awareness of taking that life away. The comparison of the seasons, with Demeter, is also man’s view on life. What man destroys, nature will help refurbish. Just as woman can continue to bring in new life to the world.

Here we see the goddess Isis of Egyptian Mythology. I am Isis, I am she who is called goddess by women I gave and ordained laws for humans which no one is able to change I divided the earth from the heavens I ordered the course of the sun and the moon I appointed to women to bring their infants to birth in the tenth month I made the beautiful and the shameful to be distinguished by nature I established punishment for those who practice injustice I am Queen of rivers and winds and sea I am the rays of the sun Fate hearkens to me Hail Egypt that nourishes me. (Engelsman) Obviously greatly admired in her time, which lasted until around 600 AD. Isis had all the qualities and more of the mother archetype. One particular quality she displayed was her mysteriousness. She was everything, so it seemed, but no one really knew why she was all of this. This question allows one to ask, why all of these traits as listed above, to one woman have. The answer is the one and the same with the story of Demeter. Man admires woman for what she can do and for what he will never be able to do. Give life, nurture life and in many ways control life. Isis is the apex of all the goddesses and the mother archetype. The Egyptian culture must have had great respect for their women at the time the story of Isis was developed. This is evident in all the complexion they gave to Isis. She was nature, and everything that attributed to it. While Demeter and Isis both have noteworthy mother archetypal qualities, they lack in some of the more virtuous aspects. Within the areas they lack in virtue and morality, the Virgin Mary, who is from Christian religions, make up for them.

The Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Mary is not the wife of God though. She was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Mary represents everything good in the world. She has never been touched and is clean and pure. The Virgin Mary represents the woman that man wants. “She will conceive…a Son”. Mary is the subservient to man. She is not represented with any symbols, except for her pureness. She does not have any mystical powers, except for her conception of child without sex. The Virgin Mary is represented as a woman that has been graciously touched by God himself, and gives birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Yet she is still a “handmaid of the lord” (Luke 1:38). The church, the creator of this story, was apparently concerned with the idolization of the Virgin Mary and wrote: God came down from heaven, the Word clothed Himself with flesh from a holy Virgin, not, assuredly, that the Virgin should be adored, nor to make her God, nor that we should offer sacrifice to her name, nor that, now after so many generations, women should once again be appointed priests…Let no one adore Mary. (Epiphanius 49) Here we can see man coming into the monotheism, where Christian belief is today. The Virgin Mary does represent a mother archetype, although it is not as prevalent as Demeter and Isis. Mary’s character is more housed, in a way that can be controlled and can be put into guidelines. Just as times before, man wants what he cannot have. In Mary’s case, the forever virgin.

Man needs to realize that men and women are different, and each have wonderful traits. Though many of these archetypes are brought on by the unconscious mind, which is the portion of one’s psyche which is outside of awareness, those thoughts should be left at the realization that they are thoughts. These goddess or mother archetypes are brought into our societies to teach man and woman the values in each other. To restore balance in one’s lives. Demeter, she helped to explain strange occurrences in Greece as well as reveal the importance of woman’s traits to give life. Isis, she kept the Egyptian nation strong and united during her reign by being everything at once. Mary, she has had mercy brought into the Christian beliefs against the sometimes stern male God. All three characters are important throughout history, and have managed to keep their legends alive.

Bibliography:

Bibliography

Works Cited Engelsman, Joan C. The Feminine Dimension of the Divine. Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1997.

Epiphanius, Heresies. In Mary in the Document of the Church. Palmer, P.F. ed. London: Burns Oats, 1953.

Holy Bible. New King James Version.

Hopkins, P., & Trachy, C.L. The Study of Story. North Carolina: Hunter Textbooks Inc., 1996.

Jung, C.G. Collected Works, Volume 9, Part1, Archetypes & the Collective Unconscious. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968 (1933)