Common Archetypes

1
Common Archetypes

• Carl Jung

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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

3
The Hero

• In its 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.

4
The Hero

• Mythological examples of the hero include
  Hercules, Achilles, Vainomonen, Gilgamesh, Noah
• Present fictional examples include Harry Potter,
  Luke Skywalker

5
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.

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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.

7
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).

8
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?

9
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.

10
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.

11
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.

12
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.

13
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.

14
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?

15
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.

16
The Herald

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

17
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.
  

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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.

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Anima/Animus

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

20
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.

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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.

22
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.)

23
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.

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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.

25
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.