ESP-3948

Published

2025-10-25

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 10 (2025): Published

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yahui Lu, Raihanah M.M.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The journal adopts the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), which means that anyone can reuse and redistribute the materials for non-commercial purposes as long as you follow the license terms and the original source is properly cited.

Author(s) shall retain the copyright of their work and grant the Journal/Publisher rights for the first publication with the work concurrently licensed since 2023 Vol.8 No.2.

Under this license, author(s) will allow third parties to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content under the condition that the authors are given credit. No permission is required from the authors or the publisher.

This broad license intends to facilitate free access, as well as the unrestricted use of original works of all types. This ensures that the published work is freely and openly available in perpetuity.

By providing open access, the following benefits are brought about:

  • Higher Visibility, Availability and Citations-free and unlimited accessibility of the publication over the internet without any restrictions increases citation of the article.
  • Ease of search-publications are easily searchable in search engines and indexing databases.
  • Rapid Publication – accepted papers are immediately published online.
  • Available for free download immediately after publication at https://esp.as-pub.com/index.php/ESP

 

Copyright Statement

1.The authors certify that the submitted manuscripts are original works, do not infringe the rights of others, are free from academic misconduct and confidentiality issues, and that there are no disputes over the authorship scheme of the collaborative articles. In case of infringement, academic misconduct and confidentiality issues, as well as disputes over the authorship scheme, all responsibilities will be borne by the authors.

2. The author agrees to grant the Editorial Office of Environment and Social Psychology a licence to use the reproduction right, distribution right, information network dissemination right, performance right, translation right, and compilation right of the submitted manuscript, including the work as a whole, as well as the diagrams, tables, abstracts, and any other parts that can be extracted from the work and used in accordance with the characteristics of the journal. The Editorial Board of Environment and Social Psychology has the right to use and sub-licence the above mentioned works for wide dissemination in print, electronic and online versions, and, in accordance with the characteristics of the periodical, for the period of legal protection of the property right of the copyright in the work, and for the territorial scope of the work throughout the world.

3. The authors are entitled to the copyright of their works under the relevant laws of Singapore, provided that they do not exercise their rights in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Journal.

About Licence

Environment and Social Psychology is an open access journal and all published work is available under the Creative Commons Licence, Authors shall retain copyright of their work and grant the journal/publisher the right of first publication, and their work shall be licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Under this licence, the author grants permission to third parties to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content with attribution to the author. No permission from the author or publisher is required.

This broad licence is intended to facilitate free access to and unrestricted use of original works of all kinds. This ensures that published works remain free and accessible in perpetuity. Submitted manuscripts, once accepted, are immediately available to the public and permanently accessible free of charge on the journal’s official website (https://esp.as-pub.com/index.php/ESP). Allowing users to read, download, copy, print, search for or link to the full text of the article, or use it for other legal purposes. However, the use of the work must retain the author's signature, be limited to non-commercial purposes, and not be interpretative.

Click to download <Agreement on the Licence for the Use of Copyright on Environmental and Social Psychology>.

How to Cite

Lu, Y., & M. M., R. (2025). Trauma, archetype, and growth: A comparative psychological analysis of the ‘Killing of the wise old man’ motif in speculative fiction. Environment and Social Psychology, 10(10), ESP-3948. https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v10i10.3948

Trauma, archetype, and growth: A comparative psychological analysis of the ‘Killing of the wise old man’ motif in speculative fiction

Yahui Lu

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Malaysia

Raihanah M. M.

College Of Foreign Languag, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Hunan, 411104, China


DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v10i10.3948


Keywords: Antihero's Journey; killing of the wise old man; posttraumatic growth (PTG); speculative fiction; cultural contexts

Abstract

This study utilizes a psychological research framework to investigate the extent to which the traumatic rupture in the mentor-protagonist relationship enables posttraumatic development in speculative fiction. We examine the “killing of the wise old man” motif in Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem and Ntsika Kota's and the Earth Drank Deep using Jungian theory and Calhoun & Tedeschi's Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) model. The protagonists’ voyages from separation, which is characterized by a psychospiritual crisis, to initiation, where cognitive dissonance and emotional turmoil induce a change in beliefs, are traced through qualitative narrative coding. Disillusionment and subsequent identity reconstruction are the outcomes of the symbolic ‘filial violence” against the mentor figure, which induces a psychic rupture that challenges fundamental values. PTG is facilitated by coping strategies, including self-disclosure, creative expression, and the revision of cultural schemas. This results in a redefined life purpose, increased resilience, and enhanced meaning-making. Our results emphasize the Antihero's Journey as a paradigm that is effective in elucidating the manner in which literature depicts adaptive transformation in the aftermath of tragedy. This research contributes to the disciplines of trauma studies and narrative psychology by emphasizing the relationship between personal growth and archetypal disruption. It illustrates that speculative fiction is a valuable instrument for investigating psychological resilience and the processes of meaning-making in the presence of adversity.

References

[1]. 1.Ajibola, O. O. and Okoli, B. (2023). Women and nature for plunder: an ecofeminist study of chinua achebe’s a man of the people. UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, 23(2), 1-18.

[2]. 2.Allison, S. T. and Green, J. (2020). Nostalgia and heroism: theoretical convergence of memory, motivation, and function. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.

[3]. 3.Anna Bedalov, E. N., & Gwyneth Hoeksema. ( 2020). The Three-Body Problem: Political and Social Trauma Through Ye Wenjie. https://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-three-body-problem-and-ye-wenjie/the-three-body-problem-and-ye-wenjie.

[4]. 4.Booth, A. (2015). “fishing, with the arid plain behind me”: weston’s from ritual to romance., 231-231.

[5]. 5.Bray, P. (2018). The Hero-Journey, Hamlet and Positive Psychological Transformation [Article]. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 58(5), 525-555-555.

[6]. 6.Bray, P. (2023). Hero’s Journey and Positive Transformation. Cham: Springer International Publishing., 1-6.

[7]. 7.Brown, J. B., Bearman, M., Kirby, C., Molloy, E., Colville, D., & Nestel, D. (2019). Theory, a lost character? as presented in general practice education research papers. Medical Education, 53(5), 443-457.

[8]. 8.Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2004). Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1–18.

[9]. 9.Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon Books.

[10]. 10.Cixin Liu , K. L. (2014). The Three-Body Problem (Vol. 1). Tor Books：219, 228.238,242, 244.

[11]. 11.Draucker, C. (2019). the mental health consequences of mass school shootings: what do we need to know?. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 76(2), 423-425.

[12]. 12.Gaponova, Z. and Никкарева, Е. (2022). linguistic and cultural potential of the metaphor with the lexeme “hieroglyph”. World of Russian-Speaking Countries, (4), 71-80.

[13]. 13.Garosi, L. and McConnell, J. (2005). Ischaemic stroke in dogs and humans: a comparative review. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 46(11), 521-529.

[14]. 14.Gent, W. v. and Jaffe, R. (2016). Normalizing urban inequality: cinematic imaginaries of difference in postcolonial Amsterdam. Social &Amp; Cultural Geography, 18(4), 553-572.

[15]. 15.Greenwood, D., Ribieras, A., & Clifton, A. (2020). The dark side of antiheroes: Antisocial tendencies and affinity for morally ambiguous characters. Psychology of Popular Media, 10(2), 165–177.

[16]. 16.Grof, S., & Grof, C. (1989). Spiritual emergency. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam.

[17]. 17.Grof, S., & Grof, C. (1990). The stormy search for self. Los Angeles, CA: J. P. Tarcher.

[18]. 18.Hilali, K., Mughairi, B., Kian, M., & Karim, A. (2020). coaching and mentoring. concepts and practices in development of competencies: a theoretical perspective. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting Finance and Management Sciences, 10(1).

[19]. 19.Jamalinesari, A. (2015). Anima/animus and wise old man in six characters in search of an author. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 6(3).

[20]. 20.Jamalinesari, A. (2015). The wise old man archetype in literature: A comparative study. Journal of Literary Archetypes, 22(4), 112–128.

[21]. 21.Jean-François, E. (2011). l'exprience de la violence dans le roman mauricien francophone de la nouvelle gnration. International Journal of francophone Studies, 13(3), 513-529.

[22]. 22.Jung, C. G. (1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[23]. 23.Kota, N. (2023). and the earth drank deep. Granta Trust / Granta Publications. https://granta.com/and-the-earth-drank-deep/.

[24]. 24.Lawson, G. (2005). the hero's journey as a developmental metaphor in counseling. The Journal of Humanistic counseling Education and development, 44(2), 134-144.

[25]. 25.Leeming, D. (1998). death and the promise of new life., 180-182.

[26]. 26.Lehner, D. (2021). the heroine’s/hero’s journey—a call for transformation? transformative learning, archetypal patterns, and embodied knowing/learning. Journal of transformative Education, 20(2), 88-104.

[27]. 27.Li, H. (2023). analysis of the "anti-hero" image of camus' characters. Journal of Education Humanities and Social Sciences, 7, 280-283.

[28]. 28.Li, X. (2022). an analysis of narrative art in liu cixin’s science fiction. English Language and Literature Studies, 13(1), 15

[29]. 29.Lucas, G. (1977-2005). Star Wars [Film series]. United States: Lucasfilm Ltd. Nepomnyashchikh, N.A. (2022). Plots and motifs of the literatures of Siberian indigenous peoples in the twentieth century: topical research issues. Sibirskii Filologicheskii Zhurnal, (4), 77-90.

[30]. 30.Luo, J. (2022). Norse mythological archetypal analysis to the death of balder by johannes ewald. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research.

[31]. 31.Markov, S. M. (2023). Methodological and Ideological Aspects of Liu Cixin's Social Fantasy "The Task of Three Bodies". The Humanities and Social Studies in the Far East. Gaponova, Z.K., & Nikkareva, E.V. (2022). REPRESENTATION OF IMAGES OF GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER IN MODERN RUSSIAN LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN. Philological Class, 27(4), 141-153.

[32]. 32.Matarazzo, B., Barnes, S., Pease, J., Russell, L., Hanson, J., Soberay, K., … & Gutierrez, P. (2014). suicide risk among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military personnel and veterans: what does the literature tell us?. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(2), 200-217.

[33]. 33.McAllister, M. (2017). Nurse as wounded healer in the english patient. Text, 21(Special 38).

[34]. 34.Miller, K. (2007). from fears of entropy to comfort in chaos:arcadia, the waste land, numb3rs, and man's relationship with science. Bulletin of science Technology & Society, 27(1), 81-94.

[35]. 35.Morrison, M. (2015). The three-body problem by liu cixin. World Literature Today, 89(5), 63-64

[36]. 36.Nayana, K. and Manjula, K. T. (2022). Redefining nationhood and nationality through historiographic metafiction in the shadow lines. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences, 11-20.

[37]. 37.Neumann, E. (1954). The Origins and History of Consciousness. Princeton University Press.

[38]. 38.Nicolaides, A. and Zgambo, R. (2022). a brief exposition on the notions of human suffering, theodicy and theocracy in the book of job. Pharos Journal of Theology, 103.

[39]. 39.Kota, N. (2023). and the earth drank deep. Granta Trust / Granta Publications. https://granta.com/and-the-earth-drank-deep/.

[40]. 40.Perreault, T. (2023). The rise of the anti-hero: Comparison of moral ambiguity in films. UF Journal of Undergraduate Research, 25, 133438.

[41]. 41.Potapchuk, E. (2019). Dialogue of science fiction writers of china and western europe in modern literature. Scientific Development Trends and Education, 10.

[42]. 42.Rowling, J. K. (1997-2007). Harry Potter [Book series]. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

[43]. 43.Sabel, F. (2024). The Three-Body Problem Themes: Trauma and Cyclical Harm. LitChart

[44]. 44.Schlesinger, L. (2002). stalking, homicide, and catathymic process: a case study. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 46(1), 64-74.

[45]. 45.Shackelford, T. (2001). partner-killing by women in cohabiting relationships and marital relationships. Homicide Studies, 5(3), 253-266.

[46]. 46.Sheehan, P. W. (2013). Modernism and the Aesthetics of Violence. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139568296。

[47]. 47.Silverman, M. (2021). latency in lebanon, or bringing things (back) to life: a perfect day (joana hadjithomas and khalil joreige, 2005). Memory Studies, 16(4), 694-708.

[48]. 48.Soden, O. (2020). tippett, eliot and madame sosostris 1., 638-647.

[49]. 49.Song, Mingwei, 'Liu Cixin’s Three-Body Trilogy: Between the Sublime Cosmos and the Micro Era', in Dale Knickerbocker (ed.), Lingua Cosmica: Science Fiction from around the World (Champaign, IL, 2018; online edn, Illinois Scholarship Online, 24 Jan. 2019),

[50]. 50.Song, M. (2018). Liu cixin’s three-body trilogy. Lingua Cosmica, 107-128.

[51]. 51.Soyarslan, S. (2019). two ethical ideals in spinoza'sethics: the free man and the wise man. Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 5(3), 357-370.

[52]. 52.Steiner, P. (2022). modern hard sf: simulating physics in virtual reality in cixin liu’s "the three-body problem". Lublin Studies in modern Languages and Literature, 46(3), 57-66.

[53]. 53.Sabel, Francesca. "The Three-Body Problem Themes: Trauma and Cyclical Harm." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 12 May 2022. Web. 22 Feb 2024.

[54]. 54.Suzan Naji Sabri(2022). A literature review on domestic violence expressed from gender perspective. Qalaai Zanist Scientific Journal, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.25212/lfu.qzj.7.1.32

[55]. 55.Tian, X. (2020). fantasy is more believable: the shadow civil sphere in chinese online fiction.

[56]. 56.Villiers, M. d. (2022). Ntsika Kota speaks about his award-winning short story. TimesLIVE and the Sunday Times. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/news/2022-06-27-ntsika-kota-speaks-about-his-award-winning-short-story/

[57]. 57.Wang, C. and Li, T. (2018). The survival theme of the science fiction “the three body problem” trilogy from cixin liu. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Inter-Cultural Communication (ICELAIC 2018).

[58]. 58.Wardana, M. and Ulya, C. (2021). the image of women in the poetry of the marsinah fall by sapardi djoko damono. Pioneer Journal of Language and Literature, 13(2), 288.

[59]. 59.Yayla, N. (2021). Homo aestheticus' search for violence. Advances in Media, Entertainment, and the Arts, 567-591.

[60]. 60.Zgambo, H.F., & Nicolaides, A. (2022). A brief exposition on the notions of Human Suffering, Theodicy and Theocracy in the Book of Job. Pharos Journal of Theology, 103, 37-45.



21 Woodlands Close #02-10, Primz Bizhub,Postal 737854, Singapore

Email:editorial_office@as-pub.com