Archetype

1. Archetype An archetype is a repeated pattern of character, image, or event which recurs in story, song, myth and art.

2. Archetypes are seed ideas that are engrained within the “blueprint” of man. • Archetypes are universal symbols ingrained in the psyche of human beings, and are interconnected to unfold a meaningful idea or a teaching.

3. In the analysis of personality, the term archetype is often broadly used to refer to • a stereotype—personality type observed multiple times, especially an oversimplification of such a type; or • an epitome—personality type exemplified, especially the "greatest" such example. • a literary term to express details.

4. Here are some common archetypes with which you may be familiar: THE EARTH MOTHER Symbolic of success, abundance, and fertility; this character offers spiritual and emotional nourish-ment to those with whom she comes in contact. Examples Fairy Godmother (Cinderella) Galadriel (The Lord of the Rings) Mon Mothma (Star Wars) Mrs. Potts (Beauty and the Beast)

5. Some archetypes you might know: • The Hero: The courageous figure, the one who's always running in and saving the day. • The outcast : The outcast is just that. He or she has been cast out of society or has left it on a voluntary basis. The outcast figure can oftentimes also be considered as a Christ figure. • The scapegoat: The scapegoat figure is the one who gets blamed for everything, regardless of whether he or she is actually at fault. • The ill-fated lovers: This is the young couple joined by love but unexpectedly parted by fate. • The wicked step-mother: ????

6. Here are some common archetypes with which you may be familiar: THE QUEST This motif describes the search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land, the desolation of which is mirrored by a leader’s ill-ness and disability. Examples See-Threepio & Artoo-Detoo’s Quest for Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars) Doc Brown & Marty McFly’s Quest for Gray’s Sports Almanac (Back to the Future) Indiana Jones’ Quest for the Holy Grail (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

7. Here are some common archetypes with which you may be familiar: THE TASK To save the kingdom, to win the fair lady, to identify himself so that he may re-assume his right-ful position, the Hero must per-form some nearly-superhuman deed. Examples The Beast’s Task of Making Someone Fall in Love with Him (Beauty and the Beast) The Knights’ Task of Crossing the Bridge of Death (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) Kuzco’s Tasks of Returning to the Palace & Becom-ing Human Again (The Emperor’s New Groove)

8. Here are some common archetypes with which you may be familiar: THE FALL This archetype describes a de-scent from a higher to a lower state of being. The experience in-volves spiritual tarnishment and/ or a loss of innocence and bliss. The Fall is also usually accompa-nied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedi-ence and sin. Examples The Prince’s Fall from Humanity to Bestiality (Beauty and the Beast) Sméagol’s Fall from Hobbit to Gollum (The Lord of the Rings) Anakin Skywalker’s Fall to the Dark Side of the Force (Star Wars)

9. Dealing with the myth of Cinderella, written by the Grimm brothers, how could you analyze it in terms of archetypes that Carl Jung used? • The psychologist Carl Jung spent a lot of time trying to understand the unconscious side of a person's personality, the hidden things that influence us even though we're not really aware of them. Jung believed that over time, certain symbols — a.k.a. archetypes — were repeated so often in fairytales and myths and legends that they sort of sank down deep into everyone's brains. Or maybe the symbols were already there and that's why they show up in stories. (It's a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg question.) Either way, the result is that we all have very complex personalities that contain a bit of each of these archetypes, and Jungian psychologists work with patients to get in touch with these hidden layers of themselves.

10. Using the Cinderella story as an example, let's look for evidence of three of Jung's major archetypes: • The Shadow — The shadow represents the darker side of humanity. It represents the negative impulses within ourselves, qualities that we would associate with a villain. Cinderella's evil stepmother would be a good example of the shadow archetype because her character is so much the polar opposite of Cinderella's. • The Anima — The anima represents the essential feminine energy of an individual (present in both men and women). The anima guides our actions based on emotion and encourages us to be sensitive to the needs of the people around us. The Fairy Godmother is probably a good representation of this archetype because of the way she can sense Cinderella's needs and make her dreams come true. • The Animus — The animus represents the essential masculine energy of an individual, and it's also present in both men and women. The animus is the rational force in our lives. An extremely animus personality would be very judgmental, a real "know-it-all." Who would this be in the cast of Cinderella? You might think of the Prince as an example because of the methodical way that he goes about looking for the owner of the glass slipper. Or, perhaps even his father the King because of the way he sets a strict deadline for the Prince to find a wife. Think of the anima and animus this way: It's like the yin and the yang (or is it the other way around?) — opposing but complementary forces that everyone and everything has.

11. You might decide that other characters fit these archetypes better that the ones above, and that's perfectly okay! There are also a few more archetypes associated with Jung. As you go through the rest of the cast, start to also think about how you might have a bit of Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, and even Evil Stepmother lurking within your own personality.