This essay examines Mother Teresa as a modern embodiment of the compassionate maternal archetype found across world mythologies. Drawing on Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and J.F. Bierlein's Parallel Myths, the paper traces the universal maternal figure through ancient and contemporary sources — from the Hindu goddess Durga to the Virgin Mary — and argues that Mother Teresa's life of sacrifice, compassion, and service in the slums of Calcutta elevated her to mythological status. The essay also briefly considers a contemporary American case involving teenage pregnancy as a contrasting modern myth rooted in the same cultural reverence for motherhood.
The paper demonstrates comparative mythological analysis, using theoretical frameworks from Campbell and Bierlein to interpret both historical figures and current events. By placing Mother Teresa alongside Durga and the Virgin Mary, the writer shows how archetypes recur across cultures and eras while being shaped by their specific cultural contexts — a hallmark of comparative mythology as an analytical method.
The essay opens by establishing the theoretical basis for mythological archetypes, then introduces Mother Teresa as a case study. It develops her archetypal qualities across several focused paragraphs before pivoting to a brief modern American myth for contrast. The paper then shifts to Hindu mythology — specifically Durga — and closes with a synthesis comparing the Western and Hindu maternal archetypes. This structure moves from theory to example to cross-cultural comparison to conclusion, following a logical analytical progression.
Mythological archetypes can be found almost anywhere one is willing to look for them. Joseph Campbell began his exploration of myths and mythological figures — and his book The Power of Myth — with an examination of ancient myths from the Christian Bible and Greek and Latin literature, but he is quick to point out the relevance of such myths today (Campbell, 1–2). Throughout his book, Campbell identifies countless modern examples of mythological archetypes and the ways in which myth continues to influence our perspectives and lives.
To find a clear and striking example of a modern mythological figure, it is necessary only to examine the situations from which mythological figures tend to emerge. Human figures of mythological proportions can only be seen in events whose circumstances and impact are equally large. This is consistently shown in ancient mythological figures — Noah in the flood and Moses in the exodus are two prime Biblical examples — and so it seems a reasonable method of identifying a modern mythological figure. The question simply becomes one of finding a situation whose depth is suitable for the emergence of an inspired personality.
Noah and Moses were both figures of rescue from desperate situations. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the most desperate long-term situations were those of extreme poverty in many developing countries. The slums of Calcutta in India typified the extreme poverty that existed in much of the world, even in urban settings. Out of this desperate situation — or rather, into it — stepped the figure of Mother Teresa, who embodies the archetype of the compassionate maternal force.
The concept of such a maternal force is arguably older than the recorded mythologies we have today, all of which were compiled in their present forms during the patriarchies that have typified almost all of human history (Bierlein, 271–3). An examination of virtually any culture will reveal some sort of goddess or other maternal figure who is a wellspring of healing, compassion, and general goodwill. For anyone growing up in the latter portion of the twentieth century, Mother Teresa took on this mythic status. She quickly came to be an international symbol of caring, compassion, charity, and self-sacrifice for the good of others.
Mother Teresa began her career as a nun by training with a convent in Dublin, and then began teaching at a high school in Calcutta (Abrams, par. 1). Noticing the extreme poverty occurring outside her school windows, she requested and was granted permission to leave the school and begin work — without funding — with the poorest of the poor (Abrams, par. 1). One of her first acts was to create an open-air school for the children of the Calcutta slums (Abrams, par. 2). This focus on children provides one of the main mythological archetypal aspects of what Mother Teresa has come to represent in the public consciousness.
Because her name and title are both so well-known, it is easy to overlook the "Mother" that is a part of "Mother Teresa." True, this title is mostly a sign of her Catholic affiliation, but it also represents her role in the world and in the public mindset. She was known as someone who cared for children — someone who cared for everyone as though they were her own children, in fact. This makes her similar to certain aspects of the goddess figure that Campbell details and the maternal archetype that Graves noticed in many ancient myths and in cultures throughout human history, including modern times (Campbell, 207–8; Bierlein, 274).
The maternal quality that Mother Teresa exuded and for which she is remembered was not the only aspect of her personality that helped her achieve mythic status. The other traits she exhibited — such as compassion and acceptance of suffering — have also been traditionally identified with the feminine, and often dismissed as "weaker" traits (Bierlein, 272). When she first began her work in the Calcutta slums, Mother Teresa had no funds and no way of knowing how her work would be supported (Abrams, par. 2). The fortitude with which she faced this situation is part of what granted her the mythic status she achieved.
According to Bierlein, Robert Graves sees much of mythological history as representing the struggle between the prehistoric matriarchies he believed existed in pre-classical times and the patriarchies that took over for most of recorded history (Bierlein, 272–4). Mother Teresa can also be seen in this light. The Catholic Church is a highly patriarchal organization. Most governments, including India's at the time Mother Teresa began her work, also operated on patriarchal models. The role of the feminine in most mythologies is not a continuation of struggle against male dominance, but rather a quiet acceptance and feminine industriousness despite subjugation (Bierlein, 272–4). Mother Teresa largely came to symbolize a continuation of this industriousness despite — and ultimately alongside — official recognition of her work.
She eventually received such recognition and funding, of course, with no less illustrious an honor than the Nobel Peace Prize. But the absence of any reasonable expectation for such rewards makes her forbearance all the more remarkable. She became a symbol not only of compassion, but also of fortitude.
Mother Teresa is also a powerful symbol of sacrifice. Though born to Albanian parents in Macedonia and by no means destined to a life of material comfort, the amount she gave up to go to work in Calcutta as a nun was still staggering (Abrams, pars. 1–3). Her choice to leave the relatively comfortable position she held at the high school — in order to work in even more destitute situations without any guarantee of safety or even the means of survival — demonstrates the selflessness and dedication she brought to her calling. There is a stereotype in many films and other narratives of people — even grown adults — calling for their mothers in desperate situations. There can be little doubt that this stereotype grows out of the mythological archetype of the maternal figure and the willingness of such a figure to sacrifice herself for another. Mother Teresa's identity as the modern representative of this archetype is built largely on her similar willingness, and even desire, to sacrifice her own comfort and security for the sake of others. This ties directly into her compassion and other maternal qualities as well.
Through her extreme displays of compassion, maternal caring, and sacrifice, Mother Teresa elevated herself to mythic status even before her death. She became synonymous with acts of charity and kindness, and even years after her passing, the mention of her name conjures the image of a saint-like figure of pure benevolence. More than any other woman of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Mother Teresa typifies the archetype of the Mother Goddess.
I believe that mythology and myths exist due to universal commonalities in the human experience. There is no coincidence in the repeated characters and motifs that appear in the mythologies of many different cultures; rather, they exist because they represent aspects of human life that are present in every culture. In the Durga and Mother Teresa case, the common human experience is easy to identify. Every human being in the world has a mother, and most humans throughout history have had the opportunity to form a relationship with that mother or a surrogate, with profound effects on individual and cultural development.
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