Jungian Archetypes & Characterization

Any archetype can do anything – the question will always be why. Tami Cowden

Probably most of you have, at minimum, heard the term 'archetype' as developed and used by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, as well as the term 'collective unconsciousness'. I'm not going to define them myself, as I'd be really bad at it; but you should probably familiarize yourself with the concept in order to increase your skills as a creator of characters. Or, failing that, just read a hell of a lot of mythology, Joseph Campbell, epic poetry. Or you could listen to Jewel ad nauseum on your iPod...

What are Archetypes?
Per wiki: Archetypes are innate universal pre-conscious psychic dispositions that form the substrate from which the basic themes of human life emerge. Being universal and innate, their influence can be detected in the form of myths, symbols and psychic aptitudes of human beings the world over. The archetypes are components of the collective unconscious and serve to organize, direct and inform human thought and behaviour.

The Sixteen Jungian Archetypes.
Jung outlined four main archetypes (Self, Shadow, Anima, Animus) but there are also symbols with layered meanings, and which for the purpose of creating characters are much the same thing (IMO). For these, Jung coined the term, primordial images. "Primordial images originate from the initial stages of humanity and have been part of the collective unconscious ever since. It is through primordial images that universal archetypes are experienced, and more importantly, that the unconscious is revealed."

Ripped from Wikipedia, these are:
The Self, the regulating center of the psyche and facilitator of individuation
The Shadow, the opposite of the ego image, often containing qualities that the ego does not identify with but possess nonetheless
The Anima, the feminine image in a man's psyche
The Animus, the masculine image in a woman's psyche
The Syzygy, a pairing of contrasexual opposites, which symbolized the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds. The conjunction of two organisms without the loss of identity.
The Child, is portrayed in literature in various ways. Often takes the form of a child who displays adult-like qualities giving, for example, wise advice to their friends or viceversa. (Linus van Pelt)
The Hero/Heroine, character that in the face of danger and adversity, from a position of weakness displays courage and the will for self-sacrifice, that is, heroism, for some greater good. (Gilgamesh)
The Great Mother, either good or terrible, is closely related to Mother Goddess figures in many mythologies. Represents fecundity, pregnancy, ripeness.
The Wise old man, or Senex, often appears as a wizard, foreigner, hermit, absent-minded professor type, or alien (e.g. Yoda), typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to offer guidance, thereby acting as a mentor.
The Trickster or Ape. The trickster is incarnated as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. (Loki, Prometheus, Coyote, Reynaud the Fox)
The Puer Aeternus (Latin for "eternal boy) Some of the signs of the expression of the puer archetype in a person's life can include immaturity,narcissism, and a desire to escape into fantasy or idealism in preference to remaining with the reality of a situation. (Peter Pan, Bart Simpson)
The Cosmic Man is generally described as helpful or positive, and is also frequently the physical basis of the world, such that after death parts of his body became physical parts of the universe. He also represents the oneness of human existence, or the universe. (Adam, Horus)

Why are archetypes important?
In the development of a character, the recognition of the particular archetype which the character typifies is a useful tool in the writerly toolbox. You can see how the character falls short of your needs or doesn't fit based on aspects of archetype, for example.

I'm afraid that this is such a fascinating topic for me (and the language in which the sources are rendered is so high falutin') that I'm not able to do it proper justice. So let me quote the most accessible descriptions of archetype and characters in writing that I've found.

Tami Cowden says, "Archetypes are not stereotypes; they are not cookie cutters. They can be considered a framework, or even better, a lump of clay of a particular color and consistency. Use the archetype as raw material to create a full bodied character." Wish I'd said that!

She lists her take on the Hero archetypes, Heroine archetypes, and the Villian archetypes on her web page (and in her book), and I found these to be very accessible as a writer.

Translating this to your writing style.
Just because your character is a Gilgamesh-style Hero doesn't mean he is exactly like Gilgamesh. In fact, he may not seem anything like Gilgamesh. The question, as Ms. Cowden says, is to determine the rationale behind the character's actions. WHY? Why, why, why?

This is a valid point and why I led this rant with that particular quote. All heroes are not alike; and the reason for their actions is the reason they are different. So, when you define the archetype based on the character's motivations, you have another tool to help you frame a story that fits the character, or a character to the story. You can also gauge problems if you analyze your major characters this way. For example, if the villian of the piece is more the hero than the hero, you might find your reception is off.

So, now you can go out and drive yourself crazy overanalyzing your work! One more way to avoid actually writing...

Links:
Carl Jung, by Dr. C. George Boeree
Archetypes list, by Philip Wedgewood
Archetypical Literary Criticism, wikipedia article
Jungian Archetypes, wikipedia article

Reading:
Archetypes & The Collective Unconscious, by C.G. Jung
Man & His Symbols, by C.G. Jung
Awakening the Heroes Within, by Carol Peterson
Heros & Heroines, by Tami Cowden
The Power of Myth, Bill Moyers & Joseph Campbell
The Golden Bough, by James G. Frazer
The Hero With A Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
The White Goddess, by Robert Graves

Comments

[Clare Dargin]

Wow that was interesting! This will make me take a closer look at my characters!!

[Tyhitia]

I well-known writer stated how she used Joseph Campbell's A Hero With a Thousand Faces.

Great, informative post as always, Written! :*)

[Charles Gramlich]

A nice Primer on Jungian stuff. I have to tell you that as a psychologist I tend to discount most of his stuff. Great stuff to consider for writing, I think, but not much scientific support for his concepts.

[writtenwyrdd@earthlink.net]

Glad to get the psychologist's perspective, Charles. Do you have any readings re archetypes that you can share?

[Dwight Wannabe]

Very, very insightful post.

This topic is going to bounce around in my head for a while, but don't be surprised if I "borrow" the fundementals of your idea for a post of my own down the road.

;-)

[writtenwyrdd@earthlink.net]

Fair enough, Dwight. I've done it to you twice now! I'd check out the web site or Tami Cowden's book. The character archetypes are great. I just didn't want to plagiarize her work by quoting them in entirety. Seemed a bit more than fair use to do so.

[eogallagher@aanet.com.au]

I'm also a psychologist, but found my way here as I'm writing a novel and want to use the archetype concept. As a psychologist I think Jung is the equivalent of an alchemist, and he happened to be quite into alchemy. There is nothing even remotely scientific about Jung. He was a mystic through and through. His archetypes are pretty simplistic really but I'm writing a satire!

[writtenwyrdd]

Well, I'm glad you find him amusing, but if you look at the world spiritually, Jung does have a lot to offer. Science isn't all that and a donut all the time, you know?