A number of more common archetypes exist these days in fantasy and Science fiction/fantasy stories. These include but are not limited to...
The hero/heroine: All storys have one or more of these, this is your main focus of the story, the character who is intended for the reader/audience to identify with, to support through their journey. This character will traditionally face many trials and hardships, not always coming out successfully, but the story woven in such a way that they will ultimately come out stronger from the ordeal. Examples can include characters like Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Tintin, Luke Skywalker, King Arthur and many more.
The antagonist: This is the main opponent that the hero/heroine is destined to face (and possibly defeat) in the final climax of the story, this character can vary quite dramatically though, they can be dark and brooding, a skilled trickster that may make the hero think of them as a friend just for them to end up double-crossing the hero, or something as simple as an insane genius who wants nothing more than to destroy the world. Examples of this archetype are Darth Vader, Voldemort, and Sauron
The guide/scholar: This is your traditional mentor that provides info of essential use to the protagonist in early stages of the story, but more often than not dies during one of the climaxes during Act 2 of a story. Examples include Gandalf in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Obi-wan from Star Wars Episode IV and Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series of books, just to name a few
The maiden: This female archetype is typically one of beauty, innocence and purity, often playing the part of a love interest to the protagonist (when the role is held by a male character), and often 'exists' for the purpose of being rescued by the hero, though this has changed substantially in recent years. Examples include Princess Leia from Star Wars and Arwen from Lord of the Rings.
The Mercenary: This character is often out to line their own pockets, sometimes accompanying the protagionists party as a means to an end, or possibly due to guilt or other obligations that have forced them into the situation.
The "not-too-bright" swordsman: This is your typical bumbling warrior, extremely skilled in the ways of the sword, but not the brightest bulb when it comes to matters that require a more-than-average amount of thinking
The sorcerer: This is your weaver of everything mystic and arcane, able to conjure spells and incantations from something as simple as a ball of light no brighter than a light bulb, to a spell of mass destruction that could easily rival a nuclear warhead. Sorcerer archetypes are usually (but not always) portrayed to be eccentric bookworms, often living in large towers and being rather reclusive, but not entirely unfriendly.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your types of characters inside fantasy fiction. Referring to Earthsea we can see the common character types like 'Ged' the heroine type where he needs to follow his destiny to save the world or his place of land. It is obvious for many adventurous stories to have a hero and also their perfect mentor who stays with them throughout their adventure.
Hey Glen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post upon archetypes. I've done a lot of study upon the female archetype 'the maiden', and agree with you, she is generally there to represent beauty and innocence, and often does exist to be 'rescued' or to play a love interest. Luckily, as you've mentioned, this has changed drastically over the years and although it is still evident, women are now taking the lead role in a lot of films/stories, take Lara Croft for example. The sad thing is that even though they may play a large, independent role, they are more than often highly sexualised.
I like your mention of the 'not too bright swordsman', so true! I can think of a few characters like this.
Yea true, many women are now taking lead parts in fantasy genres and action genres where they tend to be the hero and play a large independent role like you have commented.
ReplyDeleteGood post and discussion threat. May Kim, in your last comment you need to be more specific. Who are these 'many women' taking lead roles, some examples please.
ReplyDeleteAnd May Kim, note: the mentor cannot stay with the hero through the whole journey. They usually die or vanish or are left behind, otherwise the mentors do all the work and the Hero never comes into his or her own. to become a full hero you must leave your mentor(s) behind. Ged does this twice, with the village 'witch' and Ogion.
yes, I agree that mentors appear in the first part of the story and makes the boy/girl become a successful hero. However, I think sometimes there are no mentors and may start their journey by meeting their enemy and from then the main character starts their adventure to fight their enemy. The 'many women' who are now taking lead role can be from the movie twilight where the girl Bella is one of the vampires and one of the main character. Also from the recent movie Snow White and the huntsman , Kristen Stewart takes on the lead role based on the war background and fighting because of her fate.
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