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