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What does all of HUMANITY have in
common? Birth
Death
Coming of age – loss of innocence
Making mistakes
Proving oneself – redemption
Love – Loss – Suffering – Celebrating
What else?
These represent the function of archetypes!
What’s your favorite fairytale or myth? Why? Where does the fairytale
take place?
Archetypal Settings
What does the tale teach? What
does the tale reflect about society?
Archetypal Journeys/Plots
What types of characters are in
them?
Archetypal Characters
Your answers to these questions
represent the different categories
of archetypes.
These characters
and experiences
exist across cultures.
The lotuses are a
reference to the Lotus
Thread embroidery she
wove. Chūjō-hime and the spirit of
her wicked stepmother,
represented as a snake.
ARCHETYPES
An ARCHETYPE is a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art,
or mythology. For example, the "mythological archetypes of
good and evil"
This archetypal symbol will mean the same thing in
every culture. Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist, argued
that the root of an archetype is in the “collective
unconscious” of mankind. The phrase “collective
unconscious” refers to experiences shared by a race or
culture. This includes love, religion, death, birth, life,
struggle, survival.
Therefore when archetypes are used in literature, art,
or mythology they deliver emotional power and
“communion” or “connection” with others. The use of
archetypical gives a literary work a universal
acceptance, as readers identify the characters and
situations in their social and cultural context. By using
common archetype, the writers attempt to impart
realism to their works, as the situations and characters
are drawn from the experiences of the world.
You will recognize many of these archetypes because
you have already met many of them in the simplified
fairytale stories you were read as children.
ARCHETYPAL
CHARACTERS
ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS have recognizable/typical patterns of behavior
You can already predict outcomes for these characters.
ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS are important in ancient mythology and modern stories because they represent the various peoples/values in society.
THE DEVIL/SATANA deal-maker who seduces by using whatever tactic represents your greatest want. A dark force at work, whose win usually results in the loss of soul, innocence, or morality.
MAIDENRepresent virginal purity wherein dreams, innocence, and potential are still alive.
INNOCENTAn inexperienced individual exposed to the evils of the world: child, baby, or young animal.
WISE MAN OR WOMANHas life experience from which to teach a youngster –father, mother, grandparent, mentor.
CRONE/WIZARDElder who can employ magic orother special powers in orderto help, guide, or protect: fairy godmother, crone, priestess,wizard
HERO/HEROINEA savior/rescuer, warrior, knight. They are awakened to their own inner strength to overcome great obstacles. Requires great bravery.
ANTI-HERO An unlikely or seemingly opposite character who fulfills the role of hero.
THE TRICKSTER/JESTERClown, mischief maker. Provides comic relief to offset heavy dramatic tension. Keeps things in proportion. Can be an ally or companion of the hero, or may work for the villain. Represents the force of cunning, and is pitted against opponents who are stronger or more powerful.
THE ANIMAL COMPANIONRepresents that side of nature that helps man, isfriendly to him.
THE SCAPEGOATInnocent character blamed and punished in place of the truly guilty. Removes guilt from the culprit/society
THE UNDERDOGThe non-favored who may win something in the end.
TEMPTRESS/FEMME FATALEPossesses what males desire and uses that to destroy them.
CAREGIVER/MOTHER FIGUREA life-giver, source of
nurturing, caregiving, patience, and unconditional love.
ARCHETYPAL
SETTINGS
Because we have heard simple fairy tale type versions of ARCHETYPES when very young they have become ingrained in our subconscious. We can identify the rags-to-riches story; the wicked stepmother who expells the other woman's children; the misunderstood character whose gifts and powers are only revealed later; the quest where a series of trials are overcome.
ARCHETYPAL SETTINGS are where you would expect these stories to take place. Think fairy tales –the castle or the peasant’s cottage; the deep dark woods; the dry desert or the lush gardens. The meanings of these settings are recognizable and predictable as well.
Sometimes a writer may “play on” or adapt the expectation of an archetypal setting to create irony.
GARDENS are the place of harmony with
nature, innocence, union, or imagination. Some
gardens, like the one below, are carefully planned
and cultivated, representing an attempt to control
nature. Because they are carefully planned,
sometimes the garden can be ruined or poisoned,
or the hero has to leave it. The garden often
represents a paradise which is lost or
unachievable.
WOODS can be protective and sometimes dangerous. Those who enter often lose their direction or rational outlook and thus have to tap into their inner wisdom for direction.
CROSSROADS a place
where two roads intersect, the place of
suffering and decision. The protagonist
has to make a choice of which path to
follow or which choice to make – a forced
decision – and endure the consequences
of the choice. These decision points are
crisis points, climactic moments,
outcomes.
FOUNTAINS stand for
purification, the sprinkling of water washes away sin. Water of a fountain gives new life.
TREE archetype dates way
back to Gilgamesh searching
for the “plant of life.” Therefore
the tree setting is seen as the
center, the beginning where
sacred powers first originated.
The tree is the navel of the
world, the "cosmic axis”
standing at the universe’s
center where it passes through
the middle and unites the three
great cosmic domains: the
underworld, earth, and sky.
SEA Water nearly always
symbolizes the source or mother of all
life. The sea has always had a good
and an evil side throughout literature.
The Greek god Poseidon could churn
up giant whirlpools, storms or tidal
waves. Characters have been lost at
sea, swallowed by whales, attacked by
pirates or drowned. No doubt the sea
can be written about as a dangerous
force of nature.
The sea has also been home to huge
pearls, found treasures, and has been
the livelihood of many fisherman,
especially in Japanese literature. Also
since “all rivers lead to the ocean” the
sea can symbolize heaven or infinity
where all souls “empty” into.
The sea has sometimes been represented as the subconscious
human mind.
is vast, alien, dangerous, chaos. Represents eternity or infinity. Waves symbolize measures of time.
DESERTS Often considered the wasteland, represents an
emotionally/physically barren place or time in a character’s journey. A character
is usually cleansed of fear or doubt and reconnects to his/her sense of faith or
inner strength. Characters usually emerge from the wasteland/desert stronger
and more focused. Occasionally the wasteland wins and a character emerges
from the wasteland insane.
MOUNTAINS and PEAKSrepresent the highest place to
“see” or stretch understanding.
CAVE represents deep down where the character delves into self. It is the place where the character goes to be “invisible,”think, or symbolically, die.
OTHER ARCHETYPAL
SETTINGS
Underworld
Wilderness
River
Maze or labyrinth
Castle
Tower
Winding stair
Threshold
(A Quizlet Game later
will take you through
a tutorial of
these settings.)
ARCHETYPAL
JOURNEYS(PLOTS)
Hero’s JourneyThe hero endeavors to create his identity through multiple challenges – fulfills his/her destiny.
Coming of AgeTransition from one life stage to the next. Innocence “fades” away through some benchmark event but is replaced by experience or knowledge of the world. It signifies that we cannot hide from time.
The Fall
(a.k.a. The Expulsion from Eden) This
kind of story involves characters losing
some power or privilege. Sometimes the
characters who fall are not likable, and the
reader enjoys seeing them brought down.
In other cases, the characters are generally
good, but some mistake on their part has
derailed their hopes and dreams. A fall from
grace can be an opportunity for the
character to learn an important lesson
about life and the world.
Quests
◦ To know who you are
◦ Find knowledge
◦ Find the promised land
◦ Save the people
◦ Rid the land of danger
◦ Fame and fortune
◦ Search for love
◦ The grail
◦ Revenge
Birth/Death/Rebirth
Through pain and suffering
the character overcomes
feelings of despair, and
through a process of self-
realization is reborn.
Shapes
Colors
Numbers
Weather