A CHARACTER NEEDS AN ARCHETYPE
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Artist is Kubin – an illustration of man versus his Saurian Tail
Carl Jung didn’t invent archetypes. They’ve been around since the Greeks wrote tales of heroes and gods and villains. But Jung brought another dimension to the idea: the psychological. As an author I’ve never intentionally sought to do a particular archetype, just the idea behind the Shadow and The Hero Archetypes. It’s why I named my series with shadow in the titles. The first book, The Night Shadow, employs the ballet of the same name, and the idea of the killer-stalker in the night. It’s also why I put the first case my Private Investigators conduct is staking out a Peeping Tom’s territory. He’s also the shadow in the night.
“Taken in its deepest sense, the shadow is the invisible saurian tail that man still drags behind him. Carefully amputated, it becomes the healing serpent of the mysteries.” Carl Jung in The Integration of the Personality (English translation).
The Shadow Archetype:
Composes both negative and positive elements of our personalities. The shadow of the personality is that which we do not integrate into ourselves. We may feel shame or be a source of great anxiety. But it can also be traits that the personality views as positive, yet should not be acknowledged because it doesn’t fit in with the narrative the personality wants to be. That might be a person who is truly empathetic but wants to appear to be tough. Individuation will not occur if they don’t integrate all the aspects of their true nature and deal with the negative ones to not let them take over.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is a perfect example of the Shadow archetype unincorporated into the personae. Hyde is the larvated portion of Jekyll’s personality. But Jekyll is not all good. In fact, he’s icy cold, has few friends, and has no relationships with women. He’s isolated, rigid, unwilling to accept his bad characteristics and overcome them. He allows the Hyde personality to burst forth, take over, flooding his entire personae with the parasitic evil of Hyde. Jekyll is the unacknowledged Hyde. That vile character hides behind the mask of a rigid and cold structure Jekyll uses publicly.
The Hero Archetype:
The foremost of the Jungian archetypes is the hero. He overcomes all obstacles, all difficulties thrown at him in order to realize his destiny. He is the quintessential role-model, urging all of us to pursue our quest. It is said that the hero myth is the ultimate formula of self-realization, and is the nexus of Jung’s myths.
The above two are Jung’s foremost archetypes. The following are of lesser importance on the scale.
Wise Old Man A rchetype or Wizard or Sage :
There are many examples of Wise Old Men. Some of us have them in our families and know them well. They are quiet, thoughtful, and offer gentle guidance to the younger members of the family. Sometimes they are prophetic, seeing into the future.
Literary archetypes are plentiful, including Miyagi of The Karate Kid, or Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Lord of the Rings.
Great Mother Archetype:
The Great Mother archetype personifies the idealized personality traits of the mother figure. Caring, compassionate, and absolutely dependable, and always loving. Much like the Wise Old Man, she offers guidance and wisdom when asked. The Maiden Archetype is the Great Mother‘s counterpart.
Literary archetypes are Glenda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, and the Fairy Godmother in fairytales.
The Self Archetype:
This represents the striving of every personality.
The Personae Archetype:
This is the mask we all wear, the pretense we use to hide our true selves.
The God Archetype:
This archetype is the perfect image of the Self.
Child Archetype:
The Child Archetype represents the milestones in a person’s life, the individuation process, the future potential. We see the budding possibilities of maturation.
Literary constructs in this are both dark and light. Everything from Damian in The Omen, to Linus Van Pelt in Peanuts.
Trickster or Clown Archetype:
He always seems to have a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and plays tricks ignoring or disobeying rules and convention. He acts as a catalyst, exaggerating or forcing the hero into recognizing his character’s flaws, or creating discomfort for others with his comedy, but he never seems to experience any pain himself.
Folklore and Literary examples are rife with everything from the coyote, to rabbits, and crows. Bugs Bunny is the quintessential trickster.
Anima/Animus Archetype:
The anima (in males) or animus (in females) is the opposing gender to one’s self. Men repress their feminine side, such as empathy, and a female represses their male side, such as forcefulness. By uniting oneself, you once more become the true person you are. Anything else is an unrealistic idealized impression of what constitutes being a male or female.
Literary examples might be Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice. Because Elizabeth Bennet causes Mr. Darcy to think about how distasteful his prideful behavior is to others, Mr. Darcy does some soul searching and recognizes that aspect of his personae. Although he defends himself eloquently in a letter to Elizabeth, he also realizes the harm he has done to his friend, Charles Bingley, by casting doubt on the man’s love for Elizabeth’s sister, Jane. Mr. Darcy makes a selfless and sympathetic move by insuring the wicked Mr. Wickham marries the wayward Lydia Bennet to make an honest woman of her, and renounces his jaded opinion about Jane Bennet, encouraging the marriage. He is the perfect example of masculinity merging the softer aspects into his personae.
The hermaphrodite, represents the amalgam of opposites.
The beast, represents the primitive past of man.
The scapegoat, is the quintessential character who suffers the sins of others.
The fool, is the character who is confused and constantly travels in the wrong direction.
The artist, is typically the visionary, and represents inspiration, and unique ways of finding the truth.
What archetype are your characters?
Filed under: An Authors Thoughts
