Common Archetypes

Carl Jung

Common Archetypes• The Mentor• The Hero• The Warrior• The Child• The Mother• The Trickster• The Herald• The Shapeshifter• The Anima/Animus• The Self• The Shadow• The Maiden• The Creator• The Twins (Gemini)• The Original Man

The Hero• In it’s Greek origin, the

hero/heroine represented any character that was half god and half human.

• Later hero and heroine came to refer to characters that, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice.

• Began as exemplifying courage/prowess later shifted to demonstrate good morality.

The Hero

• Mythological examples of the hero include: Hercules, Achilles, Vainomonen, Gilgamesh, Noah

• Present fictional examples include Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker

The Mentor

• Also called the Old Man or Wise Old man or Woman.• This type of character is typically represented as a kind

and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance.

• He may occasionally appear as an absent-minded professor, losing track of his surroundings because of his thoughts.

• The wise old man is often seen to be in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, than those he advises.

The Mentor• In mythology, this

characteristic is generally given when one of the gods comes to speak to a mortal.

• Zeus, Odin, Hera, Dagda, are all examples of mentor gods/goddesses in different contexts.

• In modern fiction, we see the mentor in characters like Yoda, Obi-Wan, Dumbledore, and Gandalf, and of course, Mr. Miagi.

The Warrior• The Warrior is that part of ourselves that

protects emotional boundaries and asserts our needs in the world.

• Stands where the King tells it to stand. • The King initiates it, gives it a cause, a

mission -- as a general gives the soldier his mission.

• The Warrior serves the King and follows the King's instructions to the letter.

• Key words to describe the Warrior are duty, honor, loyalty, discipline, boundaries.

• The Warrior's tool is the sword (or any equivalent weapon of protection and assertion, including, in martial arts, the human body).

The Warrior

• Mythological examples include Mars, Athena, Thor, Launcelot.

• Modern fictional examples include too many to mention. Anyone who functions as a protector to the Hero. Han Solo?

The Child/The Innocent

• The Child or the Innocent is a common archetype seen across all cultures and countries.

• This archetype is usually represented by a human or a god who is considered an innocent without corruption. These characters generally represent hope, and provide wisdom which stems from their innocence.

The Child/The Innocent

• Examples in mythology include Eros, Pandora, Baby New Year, etc.

• Examples in fiction include Forest Gump, Frodo, Harry Potter, Rain Man, among others.

The Mother

• The Goddess/ Great Mother archetype is one seen in many different mythologies.

• The mother archetype is typically seen as both nurturing and caring, as well as volatile and tempermental.

• The mother archetype is a celebration of the uniquely female act of creation, and is one of the oldest celebrated symbols in human existence.

The Mother

• Hera or Terra, the Goddess, Isis, Tiamat, and many other images are seen in as mother or Great Mother figures.

• In modern fiction any distinctly maternal figure is seen this way.

• Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings.

• Queen Elizabeth is regarded historically as a maternal figure, despite never having given birth herself.

The Trickster

• The Trickster embodies the energy of mischief and the desire for change.

• Tricksters cut big egos down to size and, most importantly, provide comic relief that eases tension and brings the Hero (and the audience) down to earth.

• They also work to make fun of/highlight hypocrisy. • Still, the Trickster's loyalty and motives can be in doubt. Is

the Trickster an ally? An agent of the Shadow? Or an independent agent working to some private agenda?

• This character is so dedicated to laughing at the "status quo" and mocking everything around him that his true motives can remain in doubt.

The Trickster• Loki, Hermes, Raven, Anansi,

and Coyote are all excellent examples of the trickster archetype.

• In modern fiction we see the trickster as the force of chaos in the universe, not necessarily evil or good, just representative of change/chaos.

• Can anyone say… the Joker?

The Herald

• The role of the herald is to announce the challenge which begins the hero on his story journey.

• The herald is the person or piece of information

which upsets the sleepy equilibrium in which the hero has lived and starts the adventure.

• The herald need not be a person. It can be an event or force: the start of a war, a drought or famine, or even an ad in a newspaper.

The Herald

• Gandalf functioned this way

• Hermes, Mercury, Archangel Gabriel are all good examples of this type of category.

The Shapeshifter

• The shapeshifter changes role or personality, often in significant ways, and is hard to understand. That very changeability is the essence of this archetype.

• The shapeshifter's alliances and loyalty are uncertain, and thesincerity of his claims is often questionable.

• The shapeshifter is often a person of the opposite sex, often the hero's romantic interest.

The Shapeshifter

• In other stories the shapeshifter may be a friend or ally of the same sex, often a buddy figure, or in fantasies, a magical figure such as a shaman or wizard.

• Any character can take on attributes of the shapeshifter at different times in the story.

• Han Solo would fit well into this category.

Anima/Animus

• Characters who we associate with our inner, subconscious images of male and female gender roles.

The Shadow

• The Shadow archetype is a negative figure, representing things we don't like and would like to eliminate.

• The shadow often takes the form of the antagonist in a story. But not all antagonists are villains; sometimes the antagonist is a good guy whose goals disagree with the protagonist's. If the antagonist is a villain, though, he's a shadow.

The Shadow

• The shadow is the worthy opponent with whom the hero must struggle. In a conflict between hero and villain, the fight is to the end; one or the other must be destroyed or rendered impotent.

• While the shadow is a negative force in the story, it's important to remember that no man is a villain in his own eyes. In fact, the shadow frequently sees himself as a hero, and the story's hero as his villain.

• Many modern novels, comics, movies, etc have taken to using this idea to entertain a new slant on an old story.

The Maiden

• The maiden archetype represents purity, innocence, and, in all likelihood, naivete.

• Think Disney princess… (the early ones, not the more recent empowered ones.)

The Creator

• The Creator archetype is often the all-powerful omniscient figure responsible for the condition of the world.

• In many works his/her/its motivations are unclear, and the answers given (when given) are cryptic riddles at best.

The Twins

• The twins imagery occurs in multiple branches of mythology.

• They are typically physical representations of the duality of nature.

• Quite often they are in either direct opposition or total accord with each other, little middle ground.

• They can be literal twins or figurative.

The Original man

• The first ‘man’ to walk the earth.

• His is a journey of discovery and often ‘naming.’

• His journeys typically explain the most basic foundations and functions in day to day living for a culture.

• The base standard for morality is determined here.