The "Mother Archetype" in Qesse-hā-ye Mašdī Galīn Xānūm Based on Jungian Theories

One of contemporary criticism method is archetypal criticism which is based on the thoughts of Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Gustav Jung. Archetypes are important psychological elements that exist in the human collective unconscious. Tales and myths, as parts of oral literature, include many archetypes. One of the well-known examples of archetypes is mother archetype. The mother archetype manifests itself in real and virtual form with a positive or negative presentation. The aim of present article is to determine the position of the mother archetype in Qesse-hā-ye Mašdī Galīn Xānūm based on Jungian definition of archetype. For this purpose, the tales of this collection are studied and the archetypal samples are extracted and then analyzed. Also, the frequency of the presence of the archetype is determined. The results show that the mother archetype is an important and effective component in Iranian stories; the tales and stories are full of archetypal elements, especially mother archetype and one can analyze Iranian stories according to Jung's theories. So, understanding archetypes can guide to the correct understanding of Iranian stories, their characters and symbols.