Society and its Archetypes - The Puritan and the Hedonist

The Archetypes, as outlined by Carl Jung, are universal patterns common to us all that are part of the collective unconscious. We each have patterns, or traits, that shape or influence our human behaviour. These archetypes form the basis of human motivations, values and personalities.

As these archetypes are within the collective unconscious, then we contain all the possibilities, yet most people will be dominated by mainly one or two. This individuation comes down to the experiences, culture and family structure we will have been subjected to in our lifetimes (and past lifetimes). These archetypes will be very much innate to each of us, though they may mutate and combine with other archetypes as we go through further life experiences and grow our consciousness.

In western society, particularly in the last few hundred years, there has been a popularity of a common archetype that has developed progressively, proudly and without cease; the Puritan. This really benefitted society as they created universities, they laid down the moral codes and conducts of having a family unit, they exercised control and discipline in social behaviour and religious expression. Basically, they created a society that works hard and gets things done.

Fast forward to more modern-day Puritan and we can clearly see the flaws that are inherent in continuing to live like this. The Puritan thrives on working hard, being productive and doesn’t give much thought to changing this way of life. In fact, this archetype has an innate belief that she/he must work very hard in order to earn time off or enjoy oneself.

As mentioned, it benefits the establishment greatly that most people are happy to work within these limitations. To adhere to this organised structure. Children are already being prepared, within the education system and the church teachings, to understand that that’s how life should be. Work hard and you will earn time to relax. Generally, this relaxation time has been the weekend.

Within this framework, there has been a cohort that have thought outside the box and  moved away from the crowd, discovered their own way of living a life that is productive and made them more money or more time to themselves perhaps. These are the entrepreneurs and creatives of the world who have cut their own path.

For the purposes of this, I want to hone in on the true Puritan traits and how it has become so integral to our society that we have become a global unit of mass overproduction. We overproduce everything in this current day; food crops, animal breeding, plastic consumption, house building, as well as over administration of service industries.  As humans we just cannot stop producing, making things, anything, just as long as we are busy.

As a result of this, we have also created a global crisis of people who cannot sustain this level of overwork. Thus, we have created new services to work with the mental health issues suffered by those who have worked too hard and have nothing left to give back to themselves, those burnt out by their constant doing.  I consider this as a good thing. Sometimes we need to breakdown the old the usher in the new.  It is this weaving back into the collective the idea of finding balance in our lives, to return to the source and examine the lifestyle of the Puritan (the disciplinarian, the authority figure, the workaholic). Does it still serve humankind? Can we see an alternative that will be more progressive for our children and their children?

For every archetype we perceive, there will be an equal and opposite archetype offering up traits that will completely oppose the other. In this case; cue the Hedonist. The Hedonist gets bad coverage for being greedy, wanting it all, having it all; the fun, the material gains, the best of everything. Is the Hedonist the shadow side of the Puritan? Realistically, both are equal. Neither good not bad, when in balance.

In our modern day society we would generally refer to someone who is flamboyant, loves to live life to the full, has no inhibition when it comes to enjoying himself/herself. We might all love this person when we are invited to their party, yet, we fear them as they seem to own life and make such assumptions that life is theirs for the taking.

Equally, society is very quick to judge the behaviour of the hedonist. When the hedonist is living life to the extreme, there is no hiding the activity as it’s a “show” for all to see. This is not a disciplined, puritanical way of life, in fact, it’s completely opposite.

The origin of the hedonist can be seen through the mythology of the Greek god, Dionysus; the god of wine, fertility, the arts. He was known to bring joy, ecstasy and inspiration and also the dark side of that, madness, debauchery and destruction. The worship of the hedonistic lifestyle continued into the Roman god traditions with Bacchus. Bacchanalia was a festival of excessive drinking, dancing, love making and revelry. While they began as private, exclusive gatherings, they eventually evolved into public festivities. These festivals became notorious for such extreme debauchery across the Roman Empire, 

including Britain and North Africa at that time, that the festivals were  outlawed by 

Government due to concerns of extreme moral corruption and political subversion.

When we view the above two opposing archetypes with a modern day lens - we can see how these elements have been imbued into our society structure so well. During the week we work hard and are productive, at the weekend we get to drink alcohol, party and generally be the hedonist for that short period of time. It’s when these traits are taken to extreme that we have a problem as outlined above.

It is clear to see that both these archetypes are within the collective unconscious. Which 

means, it’s available to us all and we will experience these traits to some higher or lesser degree in our lifetime. Whether that’s through our own actions or that of other people within our contact group, it’s certainly on our radar.

For the purpose of finding balance in our life, we have to appreciate the finer qualities of both these archetypes and live our lives accordingly. We were put on this Earth to live a divine life that is governed by the Law of Creation. We can welcome in all  parts of ourselves  and honor what our body, mind, spirit needs at that time. When you feel the need to lighten up, don’t allow the old puritanical patterns to intercede “I haven’t finished my work, I have to clean the house” etc. Take that moment to give yourself a different experience. Allow the hedonist to offer up some pleasure, be it a walk in the park, a coffee with friends, a nap in the afternoon. These might sound like simple things and not hedonistic at all, yet western society really struggles with this balance. 

I recall a client of mine, experienceing a typical lifestyle situation, raising  two small children, sleep deprivation, trying to work a part time job and generally not feeling like she could get through the day. She returned from a visit to her GP with a prescription for anti-depressant pills, having been told that she should absolutely not sleep during the day, that was not productive and not what a good mother would do. Thankfully, in this case, my client had supportive family and friends around her to curb this extreme puritanical attitude.  Rest, refocus and energy will return. This is where we draw on community, extended family where we can.

We can take stock and recognise where we need to make adjustments.  What archetype or 

patterns are we investing too much time in that do not serve us?  The wonderful thing is that when we become more discerning, we can choose the more positive aspects of an archetype rather than getting weighed down. Life is a choice, it’s all about balance. As we become more aware of the tipping scales then we naturally influence others to achieve the same positive outcomes for themselves.

Slowly we bring about mutations in the collective unconscious that benefits everyone.

Thank you for reading my words.

Claire Booth