The Restoration of Archetypal Memory in Yusif Samedoğlu’s The Day of Murder: A Psychoanalytic and Symbolic Interpretation

Abstract

Yusif Samedoğlu’s “The Day of Murder” is a significant literary work that unites the deep layers of individual psychology with the symbolic manifestations of collective memory. The central conceptual axis of the novel is the restoration of archetypal memory. The narrative presents the revival of national identity and the collective unconscious against the backdrop of the protagonist’s individual memory loss. From a psychoanalytic perspective, the dreams, symbols, and behaviors of the characters are analyzed through Freud’s theories of repression and the unconscious. According to Jung’s archetype theory, symbols and motifs such as the grey wolf, the tree, the light, the wind, and the dream function as representations of the collective unconscious and national memory. The novel’s multilayered temporal structure (the Qajar period, the Soviet era, and modernity) reflects the fragmented nature of memory. As the protagonist recalls his past, he attains moral wholeness, a process that unites the restoration of individual identity with the revival of collective memory.

Objective: To examine the psychoanalytic and symbolic aspects of the restoration of archetypal memory in “The Day of Murder.”

Method: Psychoanalytic interpretation, text analysis based on archetype theory, and symbolic analysis.

Conclusion: The study reveals that Yusif Samedoğlu artistically expresses both the restoration of individual and national identity through the recovery of archetypal memory.