The Prince of Tides as Archetypal Hero Quest

Abstract

office of modern psychoanalyst, stages of hero-adventure to light again in dreams and hallucinations of patient. Depth beyond depth of self-ignorance is fathomed, with analyst in role of helper, an initiatory priest. And always ... adventure into a journey of darkness, horror, disgust, and phantasmagoric fears (Campbell Hero 121). This passage, quoted from mythologist Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, reads like an introduction to Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides. After all, novel is structured around fantastic Wingo family history that is unraveled in office of psychoanalyst Susan Lowenstein. The plot focuses on Tom Wingo and his attempts to help heal his suicidal sister Savannah and himself, but it is third sibling, Luke, whose life fits pattern of archetypal hero adventure outlined by Campbell in his studies of world mythology. The narrative center of Conroy's novel may lie largely with Tom, but when Campbell writes of the deluge hero [who] is a symbol of germinal vitality of man surviving even worst tides of catastrophe and sin, focus turns to Luke Wingo, Prince of Tides (Hero 37). Landon C. Burns notes that although Luke is protagonist of novel, he becomes a hero in an almost mythological sense. That he is a prince in every way become[s] abundantly clear as novel develops (115). Others commented on aspects of mythological in Conroy's work. Noted author Gall Godwin, in a New York Times review, writes that in The Prince of Tides everything is bulging with symbol and jacked up to lofty realm of myth (14). In his study of The Great Santini, Robert E. Burkholder notes that the title of novel emphasizes important role myths play, an observation equally applicable to The Prince of Tides. David Toolan refers to Luke as a good-natured Rambo with more brawn and pure instinct than brain ... perfect athlete and martyr-for-a-cause that Conroy's central heroes are not (130). Toolan is first critic who falls prey to notion that Luke Wingo is lacking in intelligence. In contrast, Burns points to mental acumen: Throughout their childhood, Luke is thought of as very bright and even told so by his parents. Actually, Savannah finds out by snooping through school records that Luke has highest I.Q. of three (116). Burns also notes that Luke's eloquent speech at hearing about Atomic Energy Commission's plans for Colleton shows that, when occasion demands, this usually taciturn man is capable of same verbal power that his siblings have (132). Pat Conroy has said that Luke Wingo is one character in this novel that he cannot account for, that he cannot directly correlate with someone in his own life (Malphrus interviews). Perhaps Luke Wingo rose up out of realm of archetypal world mythology that lies within each of us, brought to life by author's having braved dangers of his own subconscious. Campbell writes that the unconscious sends all sorts of vapors, odd beings, terrors, and deluding images up into mind-whether in dream, broad daylight, or insanity; for human kingdom, beneath floor of comparatively neat little dwelling that we call our consciousness, goes down into unsuspected Aladdin (Hero 8). In an interview Conroy says that he has come to trust unconscious of writer. That voice is coming from somewhere. That voice is asking for admission for some reason. And that voice is asking for permission to be heard (Powell 51). From that voice and within dark Aladdin's caves of The Prince of Tides, there emerges a hero whose life follows quest outlined in Campbell's work. Campbell refers to hero-quest as a pageant of marvels, and when one considers events that comprise Luke Wingo's life, they truly do read as a parade of fantastic, a showcase of unbelievable (Hero 319). …