| | Archetypal Character |
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An Archetypal Character is a character who appears over and over in legends far and wide, even in cultures that have shut themselves off from the world; in other words, a Universal Character. The blood-drinking risen dead are an Archetype as almost every culture has come up with their legends independent of each other. Angel is an archetype: the tragic hero trying to overcome the evils of their past. Trickster God Coyote is an archetype. Xena is an archetype. Any of these may be disguised as a Space Alien. Some characters combine aspects of various archetypes to form more complex characterizations, like a being The Hero and The Trickster, or a combination of two opposing archetypes.
Some lit-theories classify archetypes by the role/purpose the character inhabits for the story. These classes are: Protagonist, Antagonist, Reason, Emotion, Sidekick, Skeptic, Guardian, and Contagonist.
A related concept is the 'ectype', a distorted or flawed version of the archetype. For example, Batman is archetypal. He's a rich man who dedicates himself to anonymously fighting crime (protecting society) with a variety of gadgets. Many of the characters in Watchmen are ectypes based on this archetype.
See also Stock Characters and Deconstructed Character Archetype. |
