The mythic and psychic significance of the bear in man's imagination

Abstract

The bear in literature has ranged from a carnivorous animal with certain native instincts to a human being with particular human characteristics. The bear of children's literature was a plaything and a companion; the bear of animal tales and fables pointed out a didactic moral; the bear of adventure stories endured the rigors of his natural environment; and the bear of modern fiction competed with man. The role of the bear as symbolic of human, or even supernatural, behavior has made the understanding of human nature easier in that human behavior has been more easily accepted when regarded as animal behavior. The manner in which the bear has been treated by an author - derogatory or complimentary, as animal, human, or supernatural - has depended on the particular human trait being discussed. This paper has attempted to determine the mythic and psychic impact of the bear in human thinking, and the implication of these roles in various genres of literature.