CHARACTERISTICS OF FRENCH SOCIETY REFLECTED IN NICHOLAS FLAMEL LEGEND AS DEPICTED IN MICHAEL SCOTT’S THE ALCHEMYST:THE SECRET OF THE IMMORTAL NICHOLAS FLAMEL NOVEL

Abstract

Legend and society have close relation. This research is about the relation between legend and society. Legend can inspire the author to write a literary work. Nicholas Flamel legend exists in The Alchemyst:The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Nicholas Flamel is a French legend. The research is an analysis of Nicholas Flamel legend depicted in The Alchemyst:The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel as reflection of French society. Legend is a story believed to be a true story. Legend is something valuable in society because it influences society in perspective, culture, traditional ceremony, artwork or literary work. Those influences are analyzed in this research. Nicholas Flamel becomes a main character in the novel. Nicholas Flamel originally is a French legend. The depiction of Nicholas Flamel as a French legend is analyzed in this research. The research also analyzes the depiction of Nicholas Flamel as a character in the novel. These two depictions will be compared to get the characteristics of Nicholas Flamel. The characteristics of French society are also researched to relate to Nicholas Flamel’s characteristics. Jung’s theory of archetype is applied to explain the relation between the characteristics of Nicholas Flamel and the characteristics of French society.

The Jung’s theory of archetype states that archetype is coming from the collective unconscious mind of people so the archetype of Nicholas Flamel is coming from the collective unconscious of French society. The result is the reflection. Characteristics of Nicholas Flamel as depicted in The Alchemyst:The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel are the reflections of the characteristics of French society. The immortal Nicholas Flamel reflects the fear of death and the spirit of immortality of French society. His ability, producing gold from stone, reflects the bourgeois in France who are materialistic people. The existence of Nicholas Flamel in the The Alchemyst:The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel shows the characteristics of French society. The existence of Nicholas Flamel in the novel satirizes the life of French bourgeoisie society which is materialistic. The existence of Nicholas Flamel also shows the critic to the bourgeois in France.