French Literature Reviews - 2026

C. Braga, Postmodern Archetypology. From Oedipus to Umberto Eco
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Corin Braga

Postmodern Archetypology. From Oedipus to Umberto Eco

Honoré Champion, "Convergences" series, 2019

EAN13: 9782745351333

OVERVIEW

Is it still possible to speak of archetypes—and consequently of metaphysical systems, strong ontologies, or depth psychology—in an era obsessed exclusively with phenomena, avatars, simulacra, and virtual worlds? Corin Braga proposes adopting a "detached" attitude toward archetypes, viewing archetypal hermeneutics no longer as definitive explanations of external or internal reality, but rather as justifying scenarios for a particular worldview. Combining metaphysical and psychological archetypology, the author analyzes representative works from major epochs of European culture, ranging from Sophocles and Euripides to Robert Musil and Umberto Eco.

Corin BRAGA is a professor of comparative literature, Dean of the Faculty of Letters at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, director of Phantasma: The Center for Imagination Research, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Books: Le Paradis interdit au Moyen Âge, L’Harmattan, 2004; La quête manquée de l’Avalon occidentale, L’Harmattan, 2006; Du paradis perdu à l’antiutopie, Classiques Garnier, 2010; Les antiutopies classiques, Classiques Garnier, 2012; Pour une morphologie du genre utopique, Classiques Garnier, 2018.

The study of archetypes has long occupied a place in literary and cultural studies, bridging depth psychology, classical mythography, and hermeneutics. Within the broader tradition of European literary criticism, scholars have frequently examined how ancient motifs and structural patterns persist across centuries, adapting to shifting philosophical frameworks from antiquity to the contemporary period. Corin Braga contributes to this ongoing scholarly discourse by investigating how traditional frameworks interact with the contemporary fixation on simulacra and virtual worlds, exploring the shifting functions of mythic structures in modern narrative.