*THE FEMALE IMAGE IN AIGUL KEMELBAYEVA’S NOVEL «MUNARA»: ARCHETYPE AND TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55808/1999-4214.2026-1.24Keywords:
female image, archetype, evolution of consciousness, transformation, mythopoetics, psychological depth.Abstract
This article comprehensively examines the archetypal and psychological transformation of the female image in the novel Munara by Aigul Kemelbayeva, a prominent representative of modern Kazakh prose. The relevance of the study lies in the scholarly interpretation of the process through which the female figure in national literature transcends traditional social roles and emerges as a spiritual subject, a bearer of cultural memory, and an artistic representation of the inner development of consciousness. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of artistic representation of the female image in contemporary Kazakh literature by analyzing the archetypal structure of the female characters in Munara, their mythopoetic foundations, and the psychological depth of the protagonist.
The research methodology is based on archetypal, psychoanalytic, mythopoetic, and hermeneutic approaches. In addition, the symbolic system of the text, the categories of time and space, and the functions of natural and totemic images were analyzed in order to reveal their connection with the transformation of the protagonist’s consciousness. The female image in the novel is interpreted not merely as a social type or domestic character, but as a spiritual personality developing within the space of archetypal consciousness. The author artistically conveys the heroine’s inner experiences, loneliness, self-search, and stages of spiritual renewal through mythological and symbolic imagery.
The results of the study demonstrate that in the novel Munara, Aigul Kemelbayeva elevates the female image from a social level to the level of a spiritual subject, presenting it in close connection with national cultural codes, archetypal structures, and the collective unconscious. The compositional structure and plot of the novel reflect the heroine’s inner development, the process of individuation, and stages of spiritual maturation. In this regard, Munara represents an important work in contemporary Kazakh prose that deepens the artistic interpretation of the female image and reveals its cultural, philosophical, and mythopoetic significance.
