Archetypal Characters and Events

In class we discussed Fellini’s perspective that cinema is a human circus. We watched 8 ½ and discussed how the line between dream, fantasy and reality is blurred even further after Guido shoots himself. We don’t know what is “real” and what is not “real” as we understand the term. The critic’s portrayal in the film was mocking Godard. He commends Guido for his courage in deciding to not leave a “clumsy footprint” behind by shooting a mediocre film and then Guido has an epiphany. He has a realization of the self and he begins to make a film which includes everyone who has ever been a part of his life. Everyone who he has ever met is a clown in the circus of his life.

Many of Fellini’s characters are Jungian archetypes. In 8 ½ we see that the fragments of Guido’s story which we see in the film include more than a few of the following archetypal roles and events. We know that Guido thinks of his parents quite a bit and that both he and Fellini have strong memories of seductresses (whom Catholic officials referred to as Lucifer in disguise). According to Wikipedia, a Jungian roster includes the following archetypal figures: mother, father, child, God, trickster, hero, and wise old man.

La Strada includes several characters that are strong representations of Jungian archetypes. Il Matto who is simply referred to as “the fool” perfectly matches the trickster archetype. The fool’s role is to remind the protagonist of their purpose in life. “The trickster in most native traditions is essential to creation, to birth.” The fool reminds Gelsomina that everything, even a pebble has a purpose. Without the fool’s intervention Gelsomina would have left Zampano behind and the film would end. It is the fool who asks her, “If not you, then who will stay with him?” The fool is the one who makes Gelsomina’s epiphany possible.

As I see it, the Fool also functions as Zampano’s “shadow” or “shadow aspect” in that he constantly reminds us and Zampano himself of Zampano’s shortcomings and weaknesses. The fool brings out Zampano’s more primitive and animal-like qualities simply by existing. Wikipedia notes, “The shadow may appear in dreams and visions in various forms, often as a feared or despised person or being, and may act either as an adversary or as a servant. It typically has the same apparent gender as one's persona.” If the fool is truly Zampano’s shadow then it would explain why Zampano refuses to work alongside the fool much less remain in his presence. The extreme differences between the fool and Zampano and Zampano’s refusal to look within also support this postulate.

It is difficult to put Gelsomina into just one of the aforementioned archetypal roles because in a way she is simultaneously the hero, the child, and the trickster. Gelsomina is a grown woman but emotionally she is still a child because she has never seen the world. She approaches each new experience with childlike enthusiasm and a wide smile that can quickly become a frown. It is these sudden changes and her exaggerated expressions that cause us to see Gelsomina as a clown in the circus of life. Her character is constantly changing emotionally and physically, but these changes are created through new experiences and her interactions with other people. Her moods and facial expressions shift most frequently when she is speaking to Zampano, the man she loves. Gelsomina gives every bit of herself and all of her love to Zampano, but he gives her nothing in return. Nearly every aspect of her life is under his control. He decides when he wants to refer to Gelsomina as his wife or simply as his assistant.

The plot of La Strada also includes several important archetypal events which Wikipedia also mentions. The characters in La Strada experience “birth, death, separation from parents, initiation, marriage, and the union of opposites.” The film begins with Gelsomina’s separation from her mother and her family. Through Zampano she begins to learn how to become an artist, but her progress is riddled with difficulties. It is only after Gelsomina meets the fool for the second time that her initiation and rebirth begins. She takes the fool’s song and makes it her own. When she plays the fool’s song on the trumpet at the convent one of the sisters acknowledges her remarkable ability and Zampano seems surprised. Zampano is forced to consider that he may have been wrong in thinking that Gelsomina was useless. This most likely forces him consider that he was wrong about other things as well. Following the fool’s death, Gelsomina dies twice. Gelsomina’s real death in turn causes Zampano’s death and subsequent rebirth.

The film’s final shots feature Zampano wandering and performing alone and there is a very apparent lack of any dialogue whatsoever. The final sequence begins with a medium shot focusing on Zampano as he walks towards the tide. The film began with Zampano buying Gelsomina by the sea, so we have all come full circle together. Zampano drops to his knees and looks to the heavens. This cues a reprisal of Gelsomina’s theme. Use of Gelsomina’s theme and Zampano’s expression of desperation indicates how severely he misses Gelsomina. Zampano bursts into tears, lays face-down, and clutches the sand in his hands. The lack of dialogue draws further attention to Zampano’s position and the space his body is taking up in the shot. The camera pulls out further to a long shot with the empty stretches of beach in both directions reflecting Zampano’s absolute solitude. His behavior early in the film indicates that he naturally prefers to be alone, but it seems that in the end he only prefers solitude when he chooses it for himself. Gelsomina changed Zampano by showing him what he was missing in his life before he met her. She gave him a reason to be afraid of being alone and she brought about the death of the brutish and unfeeling Zampano. Gelsomina passes her song of self-realization on to Zampano and he is reborn.