Carl Jung's Theory:
Jung labeled three parts of the self: the shadow, or the darker, unconscious self
(usually the villain in literature); the persona, or a man's social personality (usually
the hero); and the anima, or a man's "soul image" (usually the heroine).A neurosis
occurs when someone fails to assimilate one of these unconscious components into
his conscious and projects it on someone else. The persona must be flexible and be
able to balance the components of the psyche.
Advantages: It can be a useful tool for understanding some works, such as Henry
James The Turning of the Screw, in which characters obviously have
psychological issues. Like the biographical approach, knowing something about a
writer's psychological nature can give us insight into his work.
Disadvantages: Psychological criticism can turn a work into little more than a
psychological case study, neglecting to view it as a piece of art. Critics sometimes
attempt to diagnose long dead authors based on their works, which is perhaps not
the best evidence of their psychology. Critics tend to see sex in everything,
exaggerating this aspect of literature. Finally, some works do not lend themselves
readily to this approach.