The Hero’s Shadow: A Comparative Study Of Shadow Archetype In J.R.R Tolkien The Hobbit And Patrick Rothfuss’s Name Of The Wind

Heroism and morally ambiguous protagonist seem to be the current trend in analyzing literary works in the fantasy genre. Even though the idea of an ideal hero cannot be separated from Carl Jung’s idea of the shadow archetype, very few if not none of the analysis touch on how the shadow archetype influenced the protagonist and vice versa. This study looked into the relationship and portrayal of the shadow archetype that are expressed in Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Kvothe in Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of The Wind as the two works seems to share similar plot pattern in representing the shadow yet share substantial differences. In order to examine this Jungian concept of shadow theory is used, this study also used Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. As shadows and heroes are different sides of the same coin, it is imperative to examine the changes of the shadow archetype in light of the trending morally ambiguous protagonist. Jung’s discovery of a shared unconscious structure that he called the collective unconscious has led to the discovery of the Archetypes. Using archetypal theory, specifically the shadow archetype the study analyzes how the two works differ in expressing the shadow archetype in each of Hero’s Journey stages and whether or not such differences has impacted the protagonist. Through close reading the study first looks at how the hero archetype and the shadow archetype is expressed. Finally, the identified archetypes are compared. The study ultimately argues that the differences in the representation of the protagonist affect the function and portrayal of shadow archetype within the narrative. The analysis found that the two shadows not only reflect the values of the protagonist but also changed in its function.