Archetype Notes. Proof of its existence can be found in the study of the commonality of trances, dreams, delusions, myths, religion, and stories

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1 Archetype Notes What is an archetype? The word is derived from the Greek:, original, and form or model; thus, original model. A key to understanding folk literature is to understand archetypes. They are what us a connection to all cultures and all stories. The Collective Unconscious versus the Personal Unconscious Sigmund Freud Personal experience that has been or Carl Jung Collective unconscious has been conscious but is the part we share with all Proof of its existence can be found in the study of the commonality of trances, dreams, delusions, myths, religion, and stories Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious These fantasy images of the primitive mind are so alike for all cultures that psychologist Carl Jung calls them the Collective Unconscious. They remain part of every human unconscious mind as dreams of fantasy and fear. These fantasy images of the primitive mind are so alike for all cultures that psychologist Carl Jung calls them the Collective Unconscious. They remain part of every human unconscious mind as dreams of and They are living, psychic forces which demand to be taken seriously. Jung believes that we can never be legitimately cut loose from our archetypal foundations or we will go mad and become suicidal Characteristics of Archetypes They are not individual, but the part we share with all They are the inherited part of being human which connects us to our past beyond our personal experience They are not directly, but instead express themselves in forms,, and They grow out of man s social, psychological, and biological being They are From the Roman gladiator to the astronaut, they remain the same They cannot be explained by interaction among cultures because geography and history often made this They are recurrent, appearing in slightly altered forms to take present day situations and relate them to the past in order to find meaning in a contemporary world Situational Archetypes The Quest The search for or some which, when found and brought back, will restore to a wasted land Example: In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone, Harry must find the Sorcerer s Stone before Voldemort can use it to come back to life. The Task To save the, to win the fair, to identify himself so that he may resume his rightful position, the hero must perform some nearly deed. Example: Harry must complete several tasks to get to the Sorcerer s Stone [Enchanted Wizard s Chess] The Initiation This usually takes the form of an initiation into life. The adolescent comes into maturity with new awareness and problems along with new hope for the community. This is often the climax of the story Example: Harry is initiated into the Wizarding World at Hogwarts

2 The Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call The first occurrence in a of where the hero receives a call Either from within or via a messenger [Animal, hermit, spirit, human] Causes the to begin Usually the hero, not recognizing the hand of fate at work, will attempt to out of these lifechanging adventures Example: Harry is prevented from accepting his call to adventure by his aunt and uncle The Journey Sends the hero in search of some or necessary to restore fertility to the kingdom. Usually the hero descends into a or hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths, quite often concerning his own. Once the hero is at his lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living. Example: In The Chamber of Secrets, Harry must go into the chamber to realize that although he is similar to Voldemort, he follows the side of good. Journey Variation A finds themselves together on a voyage or in an isolated situation Each member of the group will a level of As a microcosm of society, the group will descend into a real or psychological hell to discover the blackest truths concerning a society or culture Example: Ron and Hermione help Harry with his tasks to find the sorcerer s stone. The Fall Fall (from innocence) and out of paradise. This archetype describes a from a higher to a lower state of being The experience involves a and/or loss of innocence and bliss. The fall is often accompanied by from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience and moral transgression.. Example: In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry goes to the Ministry of Magic to rescue his godfather Sirius Black. In doing so he jeopardizes the safety of his friends and ultimately causes Sirius s death. Death and Rebirth The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of and cycle of. Thus, morning and springtime represent, youth, or rebirth; evening and winter suggest old age and. Example: Fawkes the Phoenix represents Death and Rebirth because he is reborn out of the ashes Nature versus a Mechanistic World Nature is while technology and society are often Example: Harry is connected to nature and creatures of nature throughout the series Battle Between Good and Evil The battle between two forces Mankind shows eternal in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great where the future or very existence of the kingdom is often at stake Example: In The Goblet of Fire, Harry must battle the newly regenerated Voldemort Unhealable Wound This wound is either or and cannot be fully healed This wound also indicates the loss of. These wounds always ache and often drive the sufferer to desperate measures Example: Harry Potter s lightening bolt scar The Ritual The actual the initiate experiences that will mark his of passage into another state Example: The Sorting of First Year Students into houses is an example of a ritual.

3 The Magic Weapon The weapon symbolizes the quality of the hero because no one else can wield the weapon or use it to its full potential. It is usually given by a figure Example: Harry s wand is the twin of Voldemort s. Hagrid takes him to Ollivander s Wand shop so Harry can purchase his wand. Symbolic Archetypes Light vs Darkness usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair. The of the struggle between light and dark frequently symbolizes the struggle between good and evil Example: Water vs Desert Water commonly appears as a or rebirth symbol Water, which solemnizes spiritual births, is used in baptismal services Similarly, the appearance of rain in a work of literature can suggest a character s spiritual birth. A desert is seen as the opposite or a place of. Often the desert is represented by an absence of the expected: lack of wind or waves on the ocean, lack of rain when there is usually rain, absence of game to hunt in the wilderness Example: Heaven vs Hell The skies and the mountain tops house [Hogwarts] The bowels of the earth contain the forces that inhabit his universe [Chamber of Secrets] Innate Wisdom vs Educated Stupidity Some characters exhibit and of situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in charge Instinctive wisdom versus book-learned ignorance is Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they accompany their educated masters on journeys Example: Ron has the wizarding street smarts that Harry lacks. Example: Hermione s innate ability at spell work helps Harry numerous times Haven vs Wilderness Places of contrast sharply against the dangerous Heroes are often sheltered for a time to retain health and resources Example: The Burrow is a haven for Harry and the Weasleys Supernatural Intervention The gods of the behalf of the hero or provide sometimes against him or her. The literary term is ex Example: In The Chamber of Secrets, Harry is helped by Fawkes who brings him the Sorting Hat from which he pulls Godric Griffyndor s sword. Fire vs Ice Threshold represents knowledge, light, life, rebirth like the desert, represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, death Example: to a new world which the hero must enter to change and grow Example: Platform 9 ¾ is the threshold to Hogwarts It is Harry s threshold into the wizarding world The Underworld A place of death or metaphorically an encounter with the side of the Entering an underworld is a form of facing a fear of death Example: The Chamber of Secrets is an Underworld

4 The Crossroads A place or time of when a realization is made and change or penance results Example: At the end of The Half-Blood Prince, Harry decides to leave Hogwarts to search for the Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort The Maze The Castle The Tower A puzzling or great uncertainty, search for the dangerous monster inside of oneself, or a journey into the heart of Example: The Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic is a Maze. A strong place of which holds treasure or princess May be enchanted or bewitched Example: Hogwarts A strong place of Represents the of self Example: Azkaban Prison The Whirlpool Symbolizes the power of nature or fate Example: In The Half-Blood Prince, the lake with the Inferi represents a whirlpool Character Archetypes The Hero Mother is a virgin or at least of heart and spirit Sometimes the hero is the child of distinguished parents (royalty) Example: Harry s parents were a part of the Order of the Phoenix An is made to the pregnant mother or kill the child at an early age usually through a curse or prophecy Example: Voldemort tries to kill Harry as an infant due to a prophecy To save the child, he/she is away and reared by parents usually in circumstances Frequently in a wilderness or wasteland Example: Harry is raised by his aunt and uncle in a suburb of London away from the Wizarding World. Very little is of his/her childhood Upon reaching adulthood, he/she to his/her future kingdom Example: Harry must find out about his parents from Hagrid Male, after proving himself (usually by defeating a wild beast), marries a princess, becomes king, knight, or warrior of the realm or village Example: Harry defeats many different creatures and does battle with Voldemort several times Hero later loses with the gods and is then driven from the city (outcast) after which he/she meets a death [Often at the top of a hill] Body is not buried Has one or more holy sepulchers Example: Dumbldore is buried in a tomb Young One From the Provinces (YOFP) The hero/heroine is away and raised by strangers in humble surroundings in a wilderness or wasteland setting Later returns to his/her home as a stranger with new to the kingdom s problems Example: The Initiate The hero/heroine who, prior to their quest, must some training and ceremony They are usually innocent, untested, and often wear Example:Harry must learn the ways of the wizarding world at Hogwarts

5 Mentor-Pupil Relationship Mentors serve as or to initiates The mentor acts as a role model for the protagonist and can function as father or mother figures as well The mentor teaches by example the skills necessary to survive the quest/task/journey Example: Harry s primary mentor is Dumbledore Parent-Child Conflict often results from separation during childhood or from an external source when the individuals meet as men and where the mentor often has a higher place in the affections of the hero than that of the natural parent Example: Harry does not know his parents as they died when he was a baby Loyal Retainers These retainers are somewhat like and are heroic themselves Often called side-kicks, their duty is to the hero/heroine and reflect his/her nobility Example: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are Harry s loyal retainers Hunting Group of Companions (HGOC) This is a band of loyal willing to face any number of in order to be together or to achieve a common goal Example: Harry has many HGOCs throughout the seven book series. Dumbledore s Army (DA) is one of them The Friendly Beast These creatures aid or serve the hero/heroine how nature is on the side of the hero/heroine Example: Harry s owl Hedwig is a friendly beast Devil Figure This character is incarnate who offers worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for possession of the Example: Voldemort is the devil figure in the Harry Potter series Devil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart A evil character saved by the nobility or love of the hero/heroine Severus Snape fits this category as he saves Harry several times in the series Scapegoat Animal or more usually a human whose in a public ceremony expiates some taint or that has been visited on a community. The death of the scapegoat often makes him/her a in society more powerful than when they lived Example: Dumbledore becomes the scapegoat at the end of The Half-Blood Prince The Outcast A figure who is from a social group for some crime (real or imagined) against his fellow man The outcast is usually destined to become a from place to place Example: Sirius Black is an outcast because everyone thinks he was the cause of the James and Lily Potter s death. Creature of Nightmare (CON) A monster usually summoned from the deepest, darkest part of the human to threaten the life of the hero/heroine. Often it is a perversion of the human body Example: The Goblins can be considered CONs Threshold Guardian Tests the hero s courage and to begin the journey Example: Hagrid is Harry s Threshold Guardian

6 Women Figures Platonic Ideal This woman is a source of and a spiritual ideal The protagonist has an l rather than a physical attraction to her Example: Hermione is Harry s platonic ideal Earth Mother Symbolic of fruition, abundance, and fertility, this character traditionally offers spiritual and emotional -to those with whom she comes in contact. She is depicted in earth colors, having large breasts and hips symbolic of her childbearing capabilities Example: Mrs. Weasley is the Earth Mother in the Harry Potter Series Temptress Characterized by beauty, this woman brings about the downfall of the hero by tempting him to turn away from his goal Example: Cho Chang causes Harry to lose his focus with DA Unfaithful Wife A woman who finds her husband dull or unattractive and seeks a more virile or interesting man. Archtypally, the woman is the center of the family and is responsible for keeping it together. Example: Bellatrix Lestrange could be considered an unfaithful wife as she is more devoted to Voldemort than her own husband Damsel in Distress This vulnerable woman must be by the hero She is often a trap set by the devil figure or temptress to ensnare the unsuspecting hero Example: Ginny Weasley is a damsel in distress in The Chamber of Secrets Star-Crossed Lovers These two characters are engaged in a love affair that is fated to end for one or both due to the disapproval of the society, friends, family or some tragic situation Other times it is a which separates the lovers, such as war, their respective positions in society, where they live, or untimely death Example: Ginny and Harry become SCL in books 6 and 7 Note: Unlike most SCL, they do have a happy ending