the steps to Individuation and self-realization in Shahnameh of Ferdowsi based upon Jung’s ideas and viewpoints

Applying new analytical views for the purpose of reviewing and critique of epic texts not only does not harm the purpose and content of such texts, but also offers new horizons and opportunities for the researchers and thinkers which help them develop their capacity for comprehending these texts. Archetypal criticism, introduced by Carl Gustav Jung, is one good example of such new approaches to reading texts. Jung recognizes the most fundamental hero(ine)’s task as his (her) achievement of balanced mental and personality traits. In other words, according to Jung, hero(ine)’s primary task is to comprehend both his(her) conscious and the unconscious mind, and establish a balance between them. Hero(in)es are super humans who, having done the tests and completed the journeys, could attain an eminence far from the usual people. Having completed their journeys, the hero(in)es come to self-realization and individuation. Individuation (principium individuationis) or gaining self-perception is one of most important topics in our (Persian) literature and Jung has investigated this topic extensively. We consider the steps to Individuation and self-realization in Shahnameh of Ferdowsi based upon Jung’s ideas and viewpoints.