Archetypes: An Introduction

1. Archetypes: An Introduction Feraco Myth to Science Fiction 27 September 2011

2. A Definition • The original pattern/model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies • A prototype or perfect example • According to C.G. Jung, it’s an inherited idea or mode of thought derived from racial experience; it’s present in each individual’s unconscious mind

3. The Best Places to Look • If I ask you about archetypes, look at: • Images • Themes/Ideas • Symbols • Character Types • Plot Patterns • You can find them in: • Myths/Folklore/Fantasies • Literature • Dreams • Religion

4. Booker’s Seven Stories I • Christopher Booker, a British literary critic, argues that humans have only produced seven basic plots • Tragedy • Hero with a fatal flaw meets tragic end (lots of Shakespeare) • Comedy • Not necessary the laugh-out-loud kind; this refers more to a story with a happy ending, typically featuring romantic fulfillment (lots of Austen) • Overcoming the Monster • With the odds stacked against you, you battle a horrifying, destructive enemy • “Its psychological appeal is obvious and eternal” (think Jaws)

5. Booker’s Seven Stories II • Voyage and Return • The character leaves, encounters the new/unusual, and returns home as a new/reborn individual (The Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland) • Quest • Similar to Voyage and Return, except that the Quest features an intentional journey centered around a specific goal (The Lord of the Rings) • Both Voyage and Return and Quest narratives can feature symbolic “journeys” as well • Rags to Riches • A character begins with nothing, only to overcome his/her disadvantages through ingenuity or virtue • The riches in question can be literal or symbolic (Cinderella) • Rebirth • A central character suddenly finds a new reason for living (A Christmas Carol)

6. Matt Haig on Booker’s Case Every story has been told...Authors are, if you excuse the analogy, like fashion designers dressing and re-dressing a body that will always have two arms and two legs and a head. Shakespeare, for instance, never bothered himself with inventing plots. The story of Hamlet had already been told several times before. Same with King Lear and Macbeth and every other Shakespeare work you can think of. That does not mean a novel or a play or a film can't be truly original. Of course it can. It's just originality doesn't come through plot. It comes from style and voice and the imagination that brings language and characters and settings to life. Personally, I don't get too bothered about whether or not a plot is considered 'original' or 'unoriginal'. All stories are, to some degree, cover versions. It's how you carry these universal plots into the present age that's the challenge for every writer.

7. Jung’s Archetypes • Jung recognized patterns in stories and mythologies that recurred regardless of the storyteller’s culture or historical period. • He hypothesized that part of the human mind contained a collective unconscious shared by all members of the human species – a sort of universal, primal memory. • Jung’s work inspired Joseph Campbell, whose The Hero With a Thousand Faces refined the original hypotheses, highlighted the patterns we either respond to or seek out (even unconsciously), and helped define the concept of heroism in the modern age.

8. Twelve Heroic Archetypes • Hero as Warrior • A god-like or impressive individual faces physical challenges and external enemies • Hero as Lover • A pure love motivates the individual to complete the quest • Hero as Scapegoat/Martyr • Hero suffers for the sake of others • Transcendent Hero • Common to tragedy • A fatal flaw brings about his/her downfall, but not before he/she reaches a transforming realization (wisdom)

9. Twelve Heroic Archetypes • Romantic/Gothic Hero • Hero with a decidedly darker side • Proto-Feminist Hero • Self-explanatory, no? • Apocalyptic Hero • Faces either the end of society or the end of the world • Anti-Hero • Typically prone to failure, blindness, or alienation • Sometimes humorous or dark

10. Twelve Heroic Archetypes • Defiant Anti-Hero • Opposes societal values, particularly concepts of heroism/goodness/virtue • Unbalanced Hero • Protagonist who has (or pretends to have) mental or emotional deficiencies • The Denied Hero/The Other • A protagonist whose status as an outsider makes heroic action possible • The Superhero • Exaggerates the normal possibilities of man • Frequently of divine or supernatural origin • Someone who does not quite belong, yet is needed by society

11. Heroic Journey Traits • The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home • The hero is born and raised in a rural setting, somewhat at a remove from civilizations and greater society • The hero has mysterious origins, or his parents are lost at a young age, leaving him to be raised by relatives, a wise guardian, or even animals • The hero is special/unique; he may represent or embody his entire culture or nation • The hero is naïve, inexperienced, or reluctant • The hero encounters monsters – or monstrous men

12. Heroic Journey Traits • The hero has a mentor – sometimes strange, usually wise, and not always human • The hero also often receives help from divine or supernatural forces, and enjoys the company of a guide or guides • The hero yearns for a beautiful woman – sometimes from afar, and at other times in close proximity • She can serve as a guide or an inspiration • The hero often crosses a body of water, travels across a great plain or pass, or traverses a bridge – all of which serve to unequivocally separate him from his past • The hero struggles for something valuable and important

13. Heroic Journey Traits • The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change to a more mature understanding of the world • The hero undergoes some type of ritual/ceremony after his initiation • The hero has a loyal band of companions (to whom he can give stirring speeches) • The hero engages in tests or contests of strength, skill, and will – physical and mental challenges that force him to draw on his endurance and resourcefulness while allowing him to show pride in his excellence • The hero suffers an “unhealable” wound; this is sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers • The hero returns to the land of his birth in disguise or as an unknown

14. Character Archetypes • The Hero • A protagonist whose life consists of a series of adventures. • The circumstances of his birth are often unusual, and he’s often tended to by surrogate figures (guardians, relatives, animals) while growing up. • He will often need to leave his kingdom on an adventure while young, only to return to it upon reaching manhood. • Common characteristics include strength and integrity. • The hero will endure hardship, even risking his life for the collective good, and leaves the familiar to enter an unfamiliar and challenging world (or to walk an unfamiliar and challenging road).

15. Character Archetypes • Young Man from the Provinces • The hero returns to his home or a place connected to his heritage; he’s now a stranger whose outsider status allows him to see new problems and new solutions • The Initiates • Young heroes or heroines who must go through some training and ceremony before undertaking their quest

16. Character Archetypes • Mentor • An older, wiser teacher to the initiates who often acts as a paternal figure. He gives the heroes gifts (weapons, food, information, magic) and serves as a role model or heroic conscience • The Mentor must now teach the hero the skills necessary for surviving the quest ahead

17. Character Archetypes • The Threshold Guardian • Tests the hero’s courage and worthiness to begin the journey • Hunting Group of Companions • These are loyal companions willing to face hardship and ordeal in order to stay together • Similar to the Loyal Retainers, whose duties are to reflect the power and nobility of the hero

18. Character Archetypes • The Friendly Beast • An animal companion showing that nature is on the hero’s side • The Devil Figure • This character is evil incarnate • The Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart • A devil figure, but one with the potential for redemption or goodness • This person is usually saved by the hero’s love

19. Other Character Archetypes • The Conflicted Father • In this relationship, the tension is built due to separation from childhood or some other source when the two meet as men • The Shadow • A worthy opponent with whom the hero must struggle in a fight to the end, and who must be destroyed or neutralized • The Shadow can represent the darker side of the hero’s own psyche • The Creature of Nightmares • A monster usually summoned from the deepest, darkest part of the human psyche to threaten the lives of the hero and his followers • Oftentimes it is a perversion or desecration of the human body • The Scapegoat • An animal – or, more frequently, a human – whose death in a public ceremony is supposed to remove some degree of sin from a community • They are often more powerful in death than in life

20. Other Character Archetypes • The Outcast • A character banished from a social group for some real or imagined crime against his fellow man, usually destined to wander from place to place • The Platonic Ideal • A woman who is a source of inspiration to the hero, who has an intellectual rather than physical attraction to her • Damsel in Distress • A vulnerable woman who needs to be rescued by the hero; she is often used as bait in a trap • The Earth Mother • Symbolic of fruition, abundance, and fertility, this character traditionally offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those with whom she comes in contact

21. Other Character Archetypes • The Temptress or Black Goddess • Characterized by sensuous beauty, this woman is one to whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who ultimately brings about his downfall (i.e. witches, vampires, etc.) • White Goddess • Good, beautiful maiden, usually blond in Western myth, and may make an ideal marriage partner; often has religious or intellectual overtones • The Unfaithful Wife • A woman married to a man she sees as dull or distant and is attracted to more virile or interesting men • Star-Crossed Lovers • Two characters engaged in a love affair fated to end tragically for one or both due to the disapproval of society, friends, family, or some tragic situation • Tomorrow, we’ll cover archetypal journeys and symbols.