Common Archetypes
Carl Jung
Common Archetypes
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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 the
sincerity 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 allpowerful 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.