Archetypal Numbers in Yangsze Choo’s The Ghost Bride (2013)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/wjfh.Vol21.Iss3.1093Keywords:
Buddhism, Confucianism, Chinese zodiac, Qi, Taoism, The Dragon boat festival, and The Qingming festival.Abstract
This study investigates the symbolic and structural roles of archetypal numbers in Yangsze Choo’s novel The Ghost Bride (2013), using Carl Jung’s theory of number archetypes. The research explores how these numbers, rooted in Chinese cultural and philosophical beliefs, function as narrative and symbolic devices. Decoding number symbolism allow readers and critics to better appreciate the importance of numbers as a literary device. The research builds its theoretical analysis on the interdisciplinary approach of Carl G. Yung’s Theory of Archetypal numbers and numerology concentrating on close reading of the text. After identifying the main archetypal numbers in the novel, the paper concentrated on time as a representative of archetypal number. The findings reveal that archetypal numbers enrich the thematic complexity of the novel and deepen its Chinese cultural resonance representing the three major belief systems and Chinese mythology.
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