Tori Amos :: essays papers

Tori Amos body: Tori Amos And Her Archetypes The lyrics of Tori Amos are some of the most complicated in music today. They remain the primary focus of her dedicated fans, as well as her detractors, despite the media's fixation on her past history of rape and abuse. They are complicated on many levels, and Tori Amos' lyrics demand a mythological approach to scratch the surface of her artistic vision. In several interviews, she has admitted to being much influenced by numerous books of symbology and others of Jungian psychology and their archetypal insights. "I don't fall in love much. I mean, I fall in love every five seconds with something but I don't go from boy to boy. I go from archetype to archetype" (Rogers 33). Most dominantly, her lyrics rely on concept of the archetypal woman in all of her aspects. Motifs of creation and destruction are also represented in her work. Her ideals of balance for herself and femininity in general have propelled her into stardom; her uses of archetypes have led the way. The allusions to Christian mythology and obscure references in "Father Lucifer" delve deeper than the casual listener may recognize. Even Toriphiles, her avid fans like to affectionately refer to themselves in this way, are pushed to the edge of their comprehension in attempting to come up with a meaning for every image. Applying a critical mythological approach works best with "Father Lucifer's" imagery because the archetypes lurk just below the surface. The title of this song aids the audience in being able to place the situation -as does the song's tranquil melody; the speaker treats the Lucifer character with compassion and appreciation. Lucifer represents more than just the idea of the Christian Devil; he is the Jungian shadow. "The shadow is the invisible saurian tail that man still drags behind him" (Guerin 180). He is not unlike other symbolic representations of this archetype in literature, namely Milton's Satan. "Father Lucifer" begins with questions and infe! rences from the speaker that seem encouraging: "Tell me that you're still in love with that Milkmaid/ how's the Lizzies/ how's your Jesus Christ been hanging" (Amos, Boys for Pele). Toriphiles and new listeners alike might concede that picking out who or what "the Lizzies" are is a daunting task. It is clear that they represent something and that their connection is more than likely appropriate, however, the reference is just not available. Who "the Milkmaid" may be remains another reference on the same cryptic plane. We might just be able to expect that the Milkmaid was simply a