Archetypes
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Character
Archetypes
The Hero
Character Archetype
• The one who may
fulfill a necessary
task and who will
restore fertility,
harmony, and/or
justice to a
community
Young Person From the Provinces
Character Archetype
• This hero is taken
away as an infant or
youth and raised by
strangers.
• Later returns home as
a stranger and is able
to recognize new
problems and
solutions
The Initiates
Character Archetype
• Young heroes who,
prior to the quest,
must endure some
training and ritual
• They are usually
innocent at this
stage.
Mentors
Character Archetype
• Serve as teachers or
counselors to the initiates
• Sometimes act as role
models or father/mother
figure
• Teach by example the
skills necessary to
survive the journey and
quest
Loyal Retainers
Character Archetypes
• The noble
sidekicks to the
hero
• Their duty is to
protect the hero.
• Often they reflects
the hero’s nobility.
Friendly Beasts
Character Archetypes
• Assist the
hero and
reflect that
nature is on
the hero’s side
The Devil Figure
Character Archetypes
• Represents evil
incarnate
• May offer worldly
goods, fame, or
knowledge to the
protagonist (hero) in
exchange for possession
of the soul or integrity
• Main aim is to oppose
the hero on his quest
The Temptress
Character Archetype
• Characterized by
sensuous beauty
• Her physical
attraction may
distract the hero
and bring about
the his downfall.
The Platonic Ideal
Character Archetype
• Often a spiritual
source of inspiration
• Someone for whom
the hero has an
intellectual or
emotional rather than
physical attraction
Damsel in Distress
Character Archetype
• Vulnerable woman
who must be
rescued by the hero
• May also be used
as a trap, by an evil
figure, to ensnare
the hero
The Star-Crossed Lovers
Character Archetype
• Two characters
engaged in a love
affair that is fated to
end in tragedy for
one or both due to
the disapproval of
society, friends,
family, or the gods
The Creature of Nightmare
Character Archetype
• This monster, physical
or abstract, is
summoned from the
deepest, darkest parts of
the human psyche to
threaten the lives of the
hero/heroine. Often it is
a perversion or
desecration of the
human body.
Situation
Archetypes
The Quest
Situation Archetype
• This motif describes the search for
someone or some talisman which,
when found and brought back, will
restore fertility to a wasted land,
the desolation of which is mirrored
by a leader’s illness and disability.
The Task
Situation Archetype
• The superhuman
accomplishment that is
necessary in order to fulfill the
ultimate goal
• There may be many tasks
within a quest.
The Journey
Situation Archetype
• Includes the series of trials and tribulations
the hero faces along the way (what the hero
learns while on the quest)
• Usually the hero is forced to discover the
blackest truths, quite often concerning his
faults, his past, or his family.
• He must accept personal responsibility.
The Initiation
Situation Archetype
• A moment, usually psychological, where an individual
comes into maturity
• Gains a new awareness of situations/problems and
understands the responsibility for trying to resolve the
dilemma
• Typically, the hero receives a “calling”, (message or
signal) that they must make sacrifices to take control of
the situation.
• Often a hero will deny and question this calling, but will
eventually accept responsibility.
The Ritual
Situation Archetypes
• An organized ceremony which
involves honored members of a given
community and the Initiate
• This situation officially brings the
young person into adulthood.
• (Not to be confused with the Initiation)
The Fall
Situation Archetype
• A descent in action from a higher to a
lower state of being, an experience that
might involve moral imperfection
and/or loss of innocence
Death and Rebirth
Situation Archetypes
• Situations where someone or something,
comes back to life after the fall
• May be loss of innocence or actual loss of
life
• (The most common situational archetypes)
Battle Between Good and Evil
Situation Archetype
• Puts obvious forces which
represent good and evil against
one another
• Typically, good ultimately
triumphs over evil despite great
odds.
The Unhealable Wound
Situation Archetype
• This wound, physical or psychological,
cannot be healed fully.
• Indicates a loss of purity or innocence
• Often drives the sufferer to desperate
measures of madness.
The Magic Weapon
Situational Archetype
• A hero’s ability to use a piece of
technology to combat evil, continue a
journey, or to prove his/herself as a
chosen individual
• (Sometimes connected with the Task)
Symbolic
Archetypes
Light vs. Darkness
Symbolic Archetype
• Light suggests hope, renewal,
or intellectual illumination.
• Darkness implies the unknown,
ignorance, or despair.
Water vs. Desert
Symbolic Archetype
• Because water is needed for life and growth, it
commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol.
• Water is used in baptism services (spiritual
births).
• Rain in a work of literature can suggest a
character’s spiritual birth.
• Desert implies ignorance, darkness, sterility
and death.
Heaven vs. Hell
Symbolic Archetype
• Humanity has traditionally associated
non-accessible parts of the universe with
the dwelling places of the supernatural.
• The skies and mountaintops house its
gods; the bowels of the earth contain the
evil forces.
Haven vs. Wilderness
Symbolic Archetype
• Haven is a place of safety.
• The wilderness/forests symbolize
danger or the unknown.
• Heroes are often sheltered for a
time to regain health and resources.
Fire vs. Ice
Situational Archetype
• Fire represents knowledge,
light, life and rebirth.
• Ice like desert represents
ignorance, darkness, sterility
and death.
Supernatural Intervention
Symbolic Archetype
• The gods can either
intervene on the side of
the hero or against him.