Archetypes and the Hero’s Journey

Traditional Archetypes

In modern times, researchers have been able to collect and compare the myths, legends, and religions of cultures from around the world. They have been fascinated to discover that for centuries, people who had no contact with each other at all had passed down stories whose characters and events were strikingly similar. Many great thinkers have tried to explain this phenomenon. Noted psychoanalyst Carl Jung introduced a theory that humans have a collective unconscious, which means that there is a store of information that we, as humans, somehow hold. This collection of information includes archetypes, or symbolic figures. Archetypes influence the way we think and behave, as people follow the same patterns throughout time and around the world.

The following is a synopsis of Carl Jung’s description of archetypes.

1. Humankind produces images unconsciously in the form of dreams. The dream images of modern people correspond to the sacred story images of myths of primitive people. The “archaic remnants” are known also as “primordial images” or archetypes. Archetypes are, in essence, the stuff of dreams.

2. Archetypes come from a tendency all human beings have to form mythological images and motifs (patterns). Although this tendency shows up in conscious representations that vary in detail tremendously from person to person, culture-to-culture, and era-to-era, the basic pattern of the archetype remains the same. The archetype may manifest itself differently according to the context it appears in, but its essential form endures.

3. Archetypes are similar in nature to instincts, but unlike instinctual behavior they are not oriented in our physiology. They often reveal themselves to our consciousness by powerful symbolic images.

4. Archetypes have no known origin. They reproduce themselves in any time or place spontaneously.

5. Archetypal forms are dynamic. Archetypes give off a vitalizing force when people allow themselves to experience them- in Jung’s words “to be brought under their spell.”

6. Archetypes are collective; often a particular one is held in common by a social group. In this way, they are distinguished from personal complexes in that they create myths, religions, and philosophical systems that profoundly effect and characterize national identities and constitute historical legends. For example, the universal hero myth always refers to a powerful person or god-figure who vanquishes evil in the form of dragons, monsters, and so on and who liberates his people from destruction and death.

7. Archetypes appear simple on the surface, but are remarkably complex in substance. Jung describes them as a “complex web of patterns.” The longer one looks into them, the more intricate and labyrinthine they become.

8. Archetype is a difficult concept to grasp because it defies a literal verbal description. Archetypes are not merely names of identifiable patterns or philosophical concepts; they are “pieces of life itself.” Archetypal symbols are integrally connected to the living individual by the bridge of emotions.

CHARACTER EXAMPLES

Archetypal Character

Description

The Hero

A larger-than-life character that often goes on some kind of journey or quest. In the course of his journey, the hero demonstrates the qualities and abilities valued by his culture.

The Father Figure

The protector and leader

The Mother Figure

The protective nurturer and gentle provider

The Fatal Woman or Temptress

A woman who uses her power (intellect, magic, or most of all, beauty) to make men, especially the Hero, weak

The Witch

A woman, often a hag (though she may be disguised as a beautiful young woman), who attempts to trap and destroy the protagonist

Monster/Villain

The antagonist, especially in opposition to the hero.

The Innocent

An inexperienced male or female character that is exposed to the evils in the world

The Alter Ego or Double

Reveals the dual nature of man

Helpers ~ Wise Old Woman or Man ~ Wise Animal

Characters that assist or guide the protagonist

The Trickster/The Fool

Characters who trick others to get them to do what s/he wants – they can be both virtuous and nefarious.

The Underdog

Characters who are always in the wrong place at the wrong time, but who usually win something of value in the end.

SITUATIONAL EXAMPLES

Archetypal Situation

Description

The Quest

What the hero must accomplish in order to bring fertility back to the wasteland, usually a search for some talisman which will restore peace, order, and the normalcy to a troubled land.

The Task

The nearly superhuman feat(s) the Hero must perform in order to accomplish his/her quest.

The Journey

The journey sends the Hero in search of some truth that will help save his/ her kingdom.

The Initiation

The adolescent comes into his/ her maturity with new awareness of problems.

The Ritual

The actual ceremonies the Initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state. A clear sign of the character’s role in his society.

The Fall

The descent from a higher to a lower state of being usually as a punishment for transgression. It also involves the loss of innocence.

Death and Rebirth

The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif grows out of a parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. Thus morning and springtime represents birth, youth, or rebirth, while evening and winter suggest old age or death.

Battle Between Good and Evil

Obviously, a battle between two primal forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds.

The Unhealable Wound

Either a physical or psychological wound that cannot be fully headed. The wound symbolizes a loss of innocence.

SYMBOLIC EXAMPLES

Archetypal Symbol

Description

Light vs. Darkness

Light usually suggests hope, renewal, OR intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.

Water vs. Desert

Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. Water is used in baptism services, which solemnizes spiritual births. Similarly, the appearance of rain in a work of literature can suggest a character’s spiritual birth.

Heaven vs. Hell

Humanity has traditionally associated parts of the universe not accessible to it with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern its world. The skies and mountaintops house its gods; the bowels of the earth contain the diabolic forces that inhabit its universe.

Haven vs. Wilderness

Places of safety contrast sharply against the dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources.

Supernatural Intervention

The gods intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against him.

Fire vs. Ice

Fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth while ice like desert represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death

Colors

Black (darkness) – chaos, mystery, the unknown, before existence, death, the unconscious, evil

Red – blood, sacrifice; violent passion, disorder, sunrise, birth, fire, emotion, wounds, death, sentiment,

mother, Mars, the note C, anger, excitement, heat, physical stimulation

Green – hope, growth, envy, Earth, fertility, sensation, vegetation, death, water, nature, sympathy,

adaptability, growth, Jupiter and Venus, the note G, envy

White (light) – purity, peace, innocence, goodness, Spirit, morality, creative force, the direction East,

spiritual thought

Orange – fire, pride, ambition, egoism, Venus, the note

Blue – clear sky, the day, the sea, height, depth, heaven, religious feeling, devotion, innocence, truth,

spirituality, Jupiter, the note F, physical soothing and cooling

Violet – water, nostalgia, memory, advanced spirituality, Neptune, the note B

Gold – Majesty, sun, wealth, corn (life dependency), truth

Silver – Moon, wealth

Numbers

Three – the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost); Mind, Body, Spirit, Birth, Life, Death

Four – Mankind (four limbs), four elements, four seasons

Six – devil, evil

Seven – Divinity (3) + Mankind (4) = relationship between man and God, seven deadly sins, seven days

of week, seven days to create the world, seven stages of civilization, seven colors of the rainbow, seven

gifts of Holy Spirit.

Shapes

Oval – woman, passivity

Triangle – communication, between heaven and earth, fire, the number 3, trinity, aspiration, movement upward, return to origins, sight, light

Square – pluralism, earth, firmness, stability, construction, material solidity, the number four

Rectangle – the most rational, most secure

Cross – the Tree of life, axis of the world, struggle, martyrdom, orientation in space

Circle – Heaven, intellect, thought, sun, the number two, unity, perfection, eternity, oneness, celestial realm, hearing, sound

Spiral – the evolution of the universe, orbit, growth, deepening, cosmic motion, relationship between unity and multiplicity, macrocosm, breath, spirit, water

Nature

Air – activity, creativity, breath, light, freedom (liberty), movement

Ascent – height, transcendence, inward journey, increasing intensity

Center – thought, unity, timelessness, spacelessness, paradise, creator, infinity,

Descent – unconscious, potentialities of being, animal nature

Duality – Yin-Yang, opposites, complements, positive-negative, male-female, life-death

Earth – passive, feminine, receptive, solid

Fire – the ability to transform, love, life, health, control, sun, God, passion, spiritual energy, regeneration

Lake – mystery, depth, unconscious

Crescent moon – change, transition

Mountain – height, mass, loftiness, center of the world, ambition, goals

Valley – depression, low-points, evil, unknown

Sun – Hero, son of Heaven, knowledge, the Divine eye, fire, life force, creative-guiding force, brightness, splendor, active awakening, healing, resurrection, ultimate wholeness

Water – passive, feminine

Rivers/Streams – life force, life cycle

Stars – guidance

Wind – Holy Spirit, life, messenger

Ice/Snow – coldness, barrenness

Clouds/Mist – mystery, sacred

Rain – life giver

Steam – transformation to the Holy Spirit

Cave – feminine

Lightning – intuition, inspiration

Tree – where we learn, tree of life, tree of knowledge

Forest – evil, lost, fear

Objects

Feathers – lightness, speed

Shadow – our dark side, evil, devil

Masks – concealment

Boats/Rafts – safe passage

Bridge – change, transformation

Right hand – rectitude, correctness

Left hand – deviousness

Feet – stability, freedom

Skeleton – mortality

Heart – love, emotions

Hourglass – the passage of time

STAGES OF A HERO’S JOURNEY

Stage 1: Departure- the hero is called to adventure, although he is reluctant to accept.

Stage 2: Initiation- the hero crosses a threshold into a new, more dangerous world, gaining a more mature perspective.

Stage 3: The Road of Trials- the hero is given supernatural aid, endures tests of strength, resourcefulness, and endurance.

Stage 4: The Innermost Cave- the hero descends into the innermost cave, an underworld, or some other place of great trial. Sometimes this place can be within the hero’s mind. Because of this trial, the hero is reborn in some way- physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Through this experience, the hero changes internally.

Stage 5: The Return or Reintegration with Society - the hero uses his new wisdom to restore fertility and order to the land

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY

1. The hero is naïve and inexperienced.

2. The hero meets monsters or monstrous men.

3. The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor.

4. The hero yearns for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide or inspiration.

5. The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home.

6. The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge.

7. The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from cities.

8. The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses his/her parents at a young age, being raised by animals or a wise guardian.

9. The hero returns to the land of his/her birth in disguise or as an unknown.

10.The hero is special, one of a kind. He/ she might represent a whole nation or culture.

11. The hero struggles for something valuable and important.

12. The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces.

13. The hero has a guide or guides.

14. The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change from an immature to a more mature understanding of the world.

15. The hero has a loyal band of companions.

16. The hero makes a stirring speech to his/ her companions.

17. The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical or mental) and shows pride in his/her excellence.

18. The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers.

RECOGNIZING PATTERNS

The following list of patterns comes from the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster who teaches at the University of Michigan.

· Trips tend to become quests to discover self.

· Meals together tend to be acts of communion/community or isolation.

· Ghosts, vampires, monsters, and nasty people and sometimes simply the antagonists are not about supernatural brew-ha-ha; they tend to depict some sort of exploitation.

· There’s only one story. Look for allusions and archetypes.

· Weather matters.

· Violence and be both literal and figurative.

· Symbols can be objects, images, events, and actions.

· Sometimes a story is meant to change us, the readers, and through us change society.

· Keep an eye out for Christ-figures.

· Flying tends to represent freedom. What do you think falling represents?

· Getting dunked or just sprinkled in something wet tends to be a baptism.

· Geography tends to be a metaphor for the psyche.

· Seasons tend to be traditional symbols.

· Disabilities, Scars, and Deformities show character and theme.

· Heart disease tends to represent problems with character and society. So do illness and disease.