Modern Man in Quest of his Soul: Collectivism Versus Individuality in Ionesco s Rhinoceros

Each literary work has a world of its own and discovering this world may seem undemanding and straightforward. By contrast, the realm of a literary work might be loaded with hints for a reader who has established a harmonious relationship with that world. The world depicted by the work may well encourage this reader to pass from the surface meaning toward the heart of the idea; it is probable that the same story is true for the hidden layers of Rhinoceros. This paper intends to analyze Rhinoceros by focusing on Archetypal and Jungian motifs which have been implemented by Eugène Ionesco in this play. The first part of discussion elaborates on the Archetypal motifs of the hero archetypes such as quest and initiation, which are the archetypes identifiable in a literary work famous for its Archetypal elements. These archetypes in Jung’s theory are in the form of an initiation, in which the characters go on an internal journey and do not return until they reach an epiphany, which is the same quest the hero of Rhinoceros took. The first part further elaborates on the character of Berenger as the sacrificial scapegoat and the victim of collective unconscious by explaining collectivism versus individuality. The second part of discussion explores different layers of meaning of the play by elaborating on the archetypes of collective unconscious, such as shadow, persona and anima that are proposed by Carl Gustav Jung after developing his theory of unconsciousness based on Freud’s theories. For delving into this issue, the characters corresponding to each Jungian archetype are brought from the text and Jung’s notion of individuation is applied to the character of Berenger.