Ireland as the great mother in the selected works of James Joyce

This study investigates how the archetypal pattern of the Great Mother, proposed by Erich Neumann, is depicted through the representation of Ireland in the works of James Joyce. The definition of archetypal criticism and the contribution of archetypal patterns to human behaviour and literary works are scrutinized, and the primary qualities of the Great Mother archetype are researched. Through a critical analysis of Yeats's Cathleen Ní Houlihan, the possible demonstration of the depiction of Ireland as the Great Mother prior to Joyce's works is discussed to highlight the essential characteristics of the archetype. James Joyce's works A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Exiles, and Ulysses are investigated to elaborate Joyce's perspective on Ireland's portrayal as a matriarchal structure and to trace how this portrayal diverges from its earlier manifestation. Results suggest that Ireland's fundamental cultural values, which had been established as distinct matriarchal systems, converged to establish a unified Great Mother figure for a common cause, yet the values developing this structure remain in conflict with one another. In addition, it has been discovered that ideological and cultural values adopted by individuals tend to organize in a manner that aligns with rudimentary matriarchal societies to maintain the secure environment provided by the embraced values.