Identification Of Archetypal Elements In Thomas Mann's The Transposed Head: A Legend Of India Within The Mythical Context

Abstract

Humans learn through imitation. The archetypes of our earliest imitations are evident in all our behaviours. Mythological stories and myths are one of the first places where these archetypes are encountered. Throughout history, myths and mythological stories have served as a source of inspiration and guidance for human behaviour and literature. Thomas Mann’s The Transposed Heads: A Legend of India inspired by the sixth story among the Vetala-pantca-Vimsatika in Indian mythology. Mann uses elements of Indian culture in his work without altering them, while interpreting it from his own perspective. The work aims to highlight the contrast between Western and Eastern societies, with Indian culture and mythology being prominent. As a result, the author’s viewpoint and the religious beliefs influenced by Indian mythology and their impact on Indian society are intertwined in the work, creating a new dimension. The objective of this research is to analyse the mythical elements presented in Thomas Mann’s The Transposed Heads: A Legend of India both explicitly and implicitly. The heroes in the work will be analysed archetypally, with reference to the teachings of Mircea Eliade, Claude Lévi-Strauss Strauss, and Carl Gustav Jung. The aim is to explain the situations that the individual falls into and to illuminate the psychology of the heroes with an archetypal perspective arising from myths.