Published Paper Details:

This research article examines Isaac Asimov's foundational robot narratives, I, Robot (1950), The Caves of Steel (1954), The Bicentennial Man (1976), and The Robots of Dawn (1983)- through the lens of Northrop Frye's archetypal criticism. While Asimov is traditionally regarded as a scientifically oriented writer concerned with robotics, rationality, and technological ethics, this paper argues that his narratives are deeply mythic in structure. Asimov's robots enact the roles of romance heroes, tragic Promethean figures, comic agents of social order, and ironic embodiments of mechanized society. Using Frye's mythoi of romance, tragedy, comedy, and irony, as the interpretive framework, this study demonstrates that Asimov transforms robots into archetypal figures that negotiate humanity's fears and aspirations regarding mechanization. The research identifies how robots function as modern equivalents of ancient mythic roles: the guardian, the questing hero, the wise companion, the redeemer, and the sacrificial figure. The analysis argues that Asimov's narratives constitute a mythic renewal wherein mechanization becomes not an agent of dehumanization but a symbolic pathway toward ethical maturity and collective survival. Ultimately, the study positions Asimov within a mythopoetic tradition, revealing the imaginative continuity between ancient mythmaking and modern science fiction.