Wa-tah' in Beloved and otha stuff too

Beloved by Toni Morrison has extensive use of the archetype of water. A prime example of this is Beloved's rise from the water. Water is archetypal of life. When children are born, its is from water (fluid) that they are released. In this same way, Beloved is "born" out of the water. We soon thereafter realize that she is in fact the ghost of the baby, Beloved, and that she is just in the form that she would have been if she hadn't died.
In the article "The archetype of water," the idea of a vengeful female ghost is discussed. The ghost either emerges of or from water, or has power through her mastery of water. The article also discusses the archetype of water through mythology, like the myth of Perseus and the Medusa, and plays such as Hamlet, where the woman is drowned in water. Additionally discussed is the cleansing power of water and its juxtaposing destructive side. These are things discussed in this article and how they relate to the archetype of water in the novel, Beloved.


http://www2.hawaii.edu/~davink/MYTHOLOGY%20CLASS/WATER/waterindex.html

The archetype of water

Water is the most primal of all archetypes. Seventy-percent of your body is comprised of this vital element. Sufferers from arthritis are said to be able to feel subtle changes in the weather due to the fluctuations of water within the synovial fluids of the affected joints. Across cultures, water is seen as the driving element behind creation; as an archetype, water seems to possess a cleansing, renewing power that is equalled only by its raw power to destroy, as shown in the recent Asian tsunami and hurricanes affecting the Gulf Region of the United States. Flood myths seem to be a powerful metaphor for water's duality as creator and destroyer.

On a scientific level, biologists are still engaged in studies about the primordial soup from which all life arose; forensic anthropologists are investigating ways to provide evidence for a great cataclysmic flood that ties into Noah's account in the book of Genesis. On the political front, the privatization of water in areas such as South America and in the Middle East seems posed to become a global issue as more and more areas across the globe may become affected by long periods of drought--water will become more precious a natural resource than ever.

The water myth in this class:

This semester, I'd like to investigate the primacy of water as embodied by a central myth: The myth of Medusa and Perseus. Modern visions of Medusa seem to harp on her status as a horrible, snake-like abomination, shunned and reviled by the Greeks so much so that her very visage stultified speech and rendered living men into stone. Ovid's version of this myth may not essentially reveal Medusa's strong connections to water, but our reading of Evslin's text may underscore Medusa's complexities as a mythic figure. Intrestingly enough, I'm not all that interested in Perseus, portrayed in Clash of the Titans by L.A. Law's Harry Hamlin--he just seems incidental to the tale, a buff pretty-boy hero hired to take down yet another monster.

Transmission into literature and into pop-culture:

Arguably, the most famous archetype of the drowned woman exists in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Ophelia, presumably distraught over the death of her father Polonius, and possibly suffering the 'pangs of disprized love' regarding Hamlet, falls into a stream. Literary scholars have always debated whether or not this act was an accident or a suicide. Decide for yourself.

The other famous woman with water-bound associations is Tennyson's Lady of Shallot. The poor lady is cursed; she cannot see the world directly, but is always forced to look at the world via a gigantic mirror (also a potent symbol). On the day that she sees the gallant Sir Lancelot, however, she feels compelled to break the curse and to stare at him directly, which breaks the mirror, and sets about the conditions of her demise. She ends up drifting down the river to Camelot in a water-drenched bier.

In modern film, the drowned woman archetype unifies a central aspect of this course: the archetype of the monstrous woman/the rational woman. Ever since Hideo Nakata released his film Ringu,countless films have explored the idea of a vengeful female ghost whose primary powers stem from her mastery of water. I am fascinated by this concept.

As such, we can raise the following questions about the archetype as it has made its way into pop-culture:

Why are women the vengeful ghosts, and not men?

Why do images of mirrors abound?

Why is the mirror central to many of these myths?

Why are distorted images prevalent in the myth (cameras, videos, etc.?)

What does the well symbolize in these myths?

Why have the central protagonists fighting the evil specter been transposed from men into women?

What are the implications of technology as it has been posited into the films?

Why has the age of Sadako been reduced in the American version?

What are the fundamental differences between American and Japanese versions of these films?

LINKS:

The Ringworld (the Internet's most comprehensive site on the Japanese and English films about Sadako and Samara, and the cursed videotape.

Ju-OnThe Grudge Website (the official website for the film)

Dark Water (the official website for the film)

What Lies Beneath (fansite for the film)