Archetypes in The Lord of the Rings, Narnia and Harry Potter

The fantasy genre is popular among the readers of different ages, geographical and social background and new novels are being published on a daily basis. Motion films are continuously being published on the basis of fantasy novels, as are video games and new editions of older books. The present paper discusses one of the possibilities, why the fantasy genre is ever present and some fantasy novels continue to impress new readers. The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter were chosen as representatives of the fantasy genre because of their popularity and critics reviews; they were also adapted to motion films. When analyzing these works and also other fantasy novels, one can notice similarities; sometimes they can be seen at the first glance, sometimes they occur on the deeper level of symbols and ideas. Broadening the scope of research leads to similarities with fairy-tales, mythologies and religious texts – texts that help many people survive their daily lives. Carl Gustav Jung argued that these texts are based on archetypes, innate concepts that are hidden in the human unconscious and have to be realized in order for the human psyche to function properly. He dedicated most of his time to five main archetypes that can be projected in various forms. Projections of the wise old man, the hero, the shadow, the anima, and the trickster can be found in myths and religious texts around the world, which was also discussed by Joseph Campbell. Jung and Campbell stress the importance of archetypes and argue that they can be realized through myths and religious texts. The three novels include projections of all major archetypes. These projections have great similarities among themselves, among other projections in fantasy literature, and similarities to the most well-known projections of these archetypes in myths and religious texts. Jung emphasized that fairy-tales and myths offer a way of realizing the need for archetypes, however; these archetypes can also be met in fantasy novels. Thus the fantasy genre is also one of the ways how people can satisfy their need for archetypes and this can be one of the reasons why the fantasy genre is very popular.