General William Sherman once said, "Courage is a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger and a mental willingness to endure it," as demonstrated in “Seeking her Husband at the Great Wall” when Meng Chiang-nu, the protagonist, demonstrates both the sensibility and the willpower to complete her journey. The Task archetype takes form when a protagonist executes an astonishing deed to reach another position. The Scapegoat archetype occurs when a death or ceremony of a death expiates some taint of another being. The Transformation archetype takes place when an individual transforms into another being as the result of another circumstance. The trek of Meng Chiang-nu to the Great Wall, her outsmarting of the Emperor, and her ascension into a silver fish supports the author purpose of “Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” that it often takes both physical strength and mental acuteness to succeed by implementation of The Task, The Scapegoat, and The Transformation archetypes.
Meng Chiang-nu’s arduous expedition to the Great Wall demonstrates the physical dexterity required to achieve her objective by utilization of the Task archetype. Meng Chiang-nu travels through “cold” and “forlornly dismal” conditions in hope of delivering the paraphernalia to her husband (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 1). For the safety of her husband, she braves the grueling trip to reach the Great Wall. Her taking of the peregrination indicates that she will endure hardships to get to her spouse. The old woman warns Meng Chiang-nu of the “mountains and rivers” in the journey ahead, but she continues, “no matter what the difficulty” (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 2). Even though obstacles stand in the way, Meng Chiang-nu’s will is strong, and she continues her trek, demonstrating that she is not afraid of setbacks. Because she resolves to undertake the Task, consisting of multiple trials and obstacles, Meng Chiang-nu demonstrates her physical ability to succeed.
The Scapegoat archetype supports Meng Chiang-nu’s mental talent when she uses her husband’s funeral to expiate the Emperor’s sin of not honoring the deceased with a burial. When Meng Chiang-nu discovers at the end of her trek that her husband died, she changes an objective to revenge the “cruel emperor that caused nothing but misery to his subjects” (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 3). Meng Chiang-nu realizes that her husband died without burial, a sin in Chinese culture, which prompts her to seek revenge. She fools the Emperor into giving her dead husband a proper funeral. After her husband was “properly buried” with all the Emperor’s “generals and courtiers” attending, she accomplishes her new secondary goal (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 3). Her husband’s funeral follows the Scapegoat archetype because the ceremony unveils to what extent the Emperor will go to receive a concubine. Meng Chiang-nu’s ability to maneuver her wits to ruse the Emperor displays her mental sharpness, as she is a village woman that completely takes advantage of the high Emperor. Meng Chiang-nu’s quick thought of revenge and the usage of her husband’s funeral as a Scapegoat prove she possesses the psychological power to succeed.
Meng Chiang-nu’s transformation into a fish connects with the Transformation archetype because she is rewarded for her physical and mental prowess. Meng Chiang-nu transforms “into a fish” when she finished her goal, which signifies that the transformation was a result of her previous actions (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 3). Her ruse preceded the alteration, confirming that it was her display of mental power that enabled the change. She turns into a “beautiful, silvery fish” when she jumps into the river after her husband received burial (“Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall” 3). The use of “Beautiful” and “silvery” demonstrates that the transformation is a positive reward. Her ruse allowed the change, but the ruse was a direct result of the physical burden she had been through. Meng Chiang-nu’s transformation spawns from the skills she presented in the mind and body.
Through all her efforts, setbacks, and determination, Meng Chiang-nu succeeds by expressing both mental and physical skills. The utilization of the Task, Scapegoat, and Transformation archetypes prove that many situations often require a fit body and a sound mind. Almost all dilemmas in the average day require some sort of blending of mental and physical skills that get the job done. Without one or the other, a situation can be hardly done right. With some thinking and a bit of hard work, almost anything can be accomplished.
