Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Creative Writing
Abstract
This thesis takes the form of a memoir, exploring the possibility of finding meaning in personal narratives by applying the archetypal structure of myth and legend. Using the Quest for the Holy Grail as an analogy for the author's life, personal essays are arranged in relation to the stages of the Grail Quest, as they reflect the author's search for wholeness. Referring to Carl Jung's extensive work with the mandala as a visual symbol of the self, Emma Jung's work on the Grail Quest as an archetypal representation of human psychological growth toward a unified self, and Anthony Giddens's research into the narrative structure of self-identity, the author postulates that a collection of essays, arranged according to such an analogous structure, constitutes a “literary mandala,” a literary representation of the author's self that functions in much the same manner as the visual mandala does.
Recommended Citation
Steed, James, "Become a Name" (2008). Theses and Dissertations. 51.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/51
