Writing Well

Character Archetypes

So, about a hundred years ago, a psychologist named Carl Jung began to introduce a new idea into psychology, one that he'd later call Archetypes. He asserted that there were universal patterns in human minds, ones that every person on this planet has due to our common experiences, ancestries, and perhaps evolution. The archetypes were common elements drawn from myth, legend, art, religion, and dreams. Jung asserted that these commonalities were limitless, but the most prevalent ones were the shadow, the wise old man, the child, the mother, the animus and  the anima. 

True or not, it's interesting that a lumberjack in Canada could have the same primordial patterns in the depths of his mind as a schoolkid in Kenya or a nun in Nepal. But what does all this have to do with storytelling?

Recall for me a myth that you know has existed for at least 1000 years. Then think of a book you've read in the last five that had pulled at you with the same power. What is it about these stories that have the power to speak to different levels of our minds, to stay relevant for hundreds of years, and inspire and even mold us? Both the myth and the novel are touching on themes, characters, and challenges that affect us all. Challenges that we see in our daily lives in a multitude of forms, though perhaps less legendary. These stories are expressions of Archetype.

Archetypes take on a larger meaning in storytelling than they do in psychology, no longer a set of images buried in our heads since man emerged from caves. And perhaps one of the earliest storytellers who studied archetype in story—at least within the last 100 years—was Joseph Campbell.

Campbell was a mythologist—he studied world myth and religion, finding commonalities among them. His most famous work, A Hero with A Thousand Faces, inspired the development of Mythic Structure (more on that later).

Archetype interweaves itself with character, symbol, mood, theme, and even plot in your work. It is what whispers to our mind and tells us that a story has greater meaning in its depths than it belies. After you've done the comic opposites exercise of the previous chapter, try seeing if you can fit an archetype onto your character. Flesh the symbols out. Make him powerful, mythological. 

Below are couple handy references to archetype. If possible, pick up a copy of Joseph Campbell's works, or listen to one of his interviews. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_characters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype

As an aside, archetype, stereotypes, tropes and cliches are related but not the same. It's when we use commonalities in a unique way to tell a new story that we avoid stereotype and cliche to create a powerful impact.