Examples of Archetype in Literature1

Below is the analysis of common archetypes that exist in literature.

Archetypes in Characters
Example #1: The Hero

He or she is a character who predominantly exhibits goodness, and struggles against evil in order to restore
harmony and justice to society. Examples of hero include Beowulf, in the book Beowulf, Hercules, in the
book Hercules, and d’Artagnan, from The Three Musketeers.

Example #2: The Mother Figure

Such a character may be represented as a Fairy God Mother, who guides and directs a child, Mother Earth,
who contacts people and offers spiritual and emotional nourishment, or a Stepmother who treats their
stepchildren poorly. Examples of a mother figure include:

In Literature:

• Lucy and Madame Defarge, from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities
• Disely, from William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury
• Gladriel, from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
• Glinda, from the Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

In Fairy Tales:

• The wicked stepmother in Charles Perrault’s Cinderella

• The fairy godmothers in Charles Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty
• Mother Goose
• The grandmother in Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood

In Mythology:

The mythological figures of Persephone, Demeter, Hecate, Gorgon, Medusa

Example #3: The Innocent Youth

He or she is inexperienced, with many weaknesses, and seeks safety with others. Others like him or her
because of the trust he or she shows in other people. Usually, the experience of coming of age comes in the
later parts of the narratives. Examples of innocent youth include:

• Pip in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations

• Nicholas in Charles Dickens’ The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
• Joseph from Henry Fielding’s The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews

Example #4: The Mentor

His or her task is to protect the main character. It is through the wise advice and training of a mentor that the
main character achieves success in the world. Examples of mentor include:

• Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

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 • Parson Adams in Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews
• Senex in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wind in the Door

Example #5: The Doppelganger

It is a duplicate or shadow of a character, which represents the evil side of his personality. Examples of
doppelganger in popular literary works include:

• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
• Edgar Allen Poe’s William Wilson
• Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Example #6: The Scapegoat

A character that takes the blame for everything bad that happens. Examples of scapegoat include:

• Snowball, in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

Example #7: The Villain

A character whose main function is to go to any extent to oppose the hero, or whom the hero must
annihilate in order to bring justice. Examples of villain include:

• Shere Khan, from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book stories

• Long John Silver, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island

Archetypes in Situations
Example #8: The Journey

The main character takes a journey, which may be physical or emotional, to understand his or her
personality, and the nature of the world. Examples of archetype in journey include:

• Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy

• Henry Fielding’s The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham
Adams
• Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

Example #9: The Initiation

The main character undergoes experiences that lead him towards maturity. Examples of archetypes in
initiation include:

• Henry Fielding’s History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

• Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
• Voltaire’s Candide

Example #10: Good Versus Evil

It represents the clash of forces that represent goodness with those that represent evil. Examples of this
archetype include:

• William Shakespeare’s King Lear

• Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
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Example #11: The Fall

The main character falls from grace in consequence of his or her own actions. Examples of archetype in fall
include:

• Oedipus, from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex

• Lear, from William Shakespeare’s King Lear

• The 12 Common Archetypes2

By Carl Golden

• The term "archetype" has its origins in ancient Greek. The root words are archein,
which means "original or old"; and typos, which means "pattern, model or type". The
combined meaning is an "original pattern" of which all other similar persons, objects,
or concepts are derived, copied, modeled, or emulated.

The psychologist, Carl Gustav Jung, used the concept of archetype in his theory of the
human psyche. He believed that universal, mythic characters—archetypes—reside
within the collective unconscious of people the world over. Archetypes represent
fundamental human motifs of our experience as we evolved; consequentially, they
evoke deep emotions.

Although there are many different archetypes, Jung defined twelve primary types that
symbolize basic human motivations. Each type has its own set of values, meanings and
personality traits. Also, the twelve types are divided into three sets of four, namely
Ego, Soul and Self. The types in each set share a common driving source, for example
types within the Ego set are driven to fulfill ego-defined agendas.

Most, if not all, people have several archetypes at play in their personality construct;
however, one archetype tends to dominate the personality in general. It can be helpful
to know which archetypes are at play in oneself and others, especially loved ones,
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friends and co-workers, in order to gain personal insight into behaviors and
motivations.

The Ego Types

1. The Innocent
Motto: Free to be you and me
Core desire: to get to paradise
Goal: to be happy
Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or
wrong
Strategy: to do things right
Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence
Talent: faith and optimism
The Innocent is also known as: Utopian, traditionalist,
naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer.

2. The Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal

Motto: All men and women are created equal
Core Desire: connecting with others
Goal: to belong
Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd
Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth,
the common touch
Weakness: losing one's own self in an effort to blend in or
for the sake of superficial relationships
Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretense
The Regular Person is also known as: The good old boy,
everyman, the person next door, the realist, the working
stiff, the solid citizen, the good neighbor, the silent
majority.

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3. The Hero
Motto: Where there's a will, there's a way
Core desire: to prove one's worth through courageous acts
Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world
Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a "chicken"
Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible
Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to
fight
Talent: competence and courage
The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer,
superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the
team player.

4. The Caregiver
Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself
Core desire: to protect and care for others
Goal: to help others
Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude
Strategy: doing things for others
Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited
Talent: compassion, generosity
The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent,
helper, supporter.

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 The Soul Types
5. The Explorer
Motto: Don't fence me in
Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through
exploring the world
Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more
fulfilling life
Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner
emptiness
Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new
things, escape from boredom
Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit
Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one's soul
The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast,
wanderer, individualist, pilgrim.

6. The Rebel
Motto: Rules are made to be broken
Core desire: revenge or revolution
Goal: to overturn what isn't working
Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual
Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock
Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime
Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom
The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary,
wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.

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7. The Lover
Motto: You're the only one
Core desire: intimacy and experience
Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and
surroundings they love
Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted,
unloved
Strategy: to become more and more physically and
emotionally attractive
Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk
of losing own identity
Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment
The Lover is also known as: The partner, friend, intimate,
enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder.

8. The Creator
Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done
Core desire: to create things of enduring value
Goal: to realize a vision
Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution
Strategy: develop artistic control and skill
Task: to create culture, express own vision
Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions
Talent: creativity and imagination
The Creator is also known as: The artist, inventor,
innovator, musician, writer or dreamer.

The Self Types

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9. The Jester
Motto: You only live once
Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment
Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world
Greatest fear: being bored or boring others
Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny
Weakness: frivolity, wasting time
Talent: joy
The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker,
practical joker or comedian.

10. The Sage

Motto: The truth will set you free
Core desire: to find the truth.
Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the
world.
Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance.
Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-
reflection and understanding thought processes.
Weakness: can study details forever and never act.
Talent: wisdom, intelligence.
The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective,
advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher,
thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher,
contemplative.

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11. The Magician
Motto: I make things happen.
Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the
universe
Goal: to make dreams come true
Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences
Strategy: develop a vision and live by it
Weakness: becoming manipulative
Talent: finding win-win solutions
The Magician is also known as:The visionary, catalyst,
inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine
man.

12. The Ruler

Motto: Power isn't everything, it's the only thing.
Core desire: control
Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community
Strategy: exercise power
Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown
Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate
Talent: responsibility, leadership
The Ruler is also known as: The boss, leader, aristocrat,
king, queen, politician, role model, manager or
administrator.

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 The Four Cardinal Orientations

The Four Cardinal Orientations define four groups, with each group containing three types
(as the wheel of archetypes shown above illustrates). Each group is motivated by its
respective orienting focus: ego-fulfillment, freedom, socialness and order. This is a variation
on the three groups of Types previously mentioned; however, whereas all the types within
the Ego, Soul & Self sets all share the same driving source, the types comprising the four
orienting groups have different source drives but the same motivating orientation. For
example, the Caregiver is driven by the need to fulfill ego agendas through meeting the
needs of others, which is a social orientation; whereas, the Hero, which is also driven by the
need to fulfill ego agendas, does so through courageous action that proves self-worth.
Understanding the groupings will aid in understanding the motivational and self-perceptual
dynamics of each type.

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More:

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3

The Underdog

The Fool

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