Week 4 - Archetypes

What are some archetypes (e.g. common character types) of fantasy fiction?

An archetype is defined by The Free Dictionary as being "An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned" and "In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious."

Looking at this, an archetype could be anything from a skater to a hippy, to an intellectual and to a artist, as well as Jungian archetypes like the Shadow and the Self. However, those are typical archetypes in the real world. In fantasy fiction, it goes beyond that and introduces a whole group of generic archetypes within a specific genre.

To start this off, we'll go with the basic of the basic: The Hero. In "A Wizard of Earthsea" that Hero archetype is, of course, Ged. After having his village attacked by Karg raiders, then saved by his timely use of a fog-gathering spell, he heeded the call to adventure after the Gontish mage Ogion heard of this feat and called upon him to learn more about magic. He did so because if he didn't, he would possibly become a danger to everyone, including himself.

This then introduces another common archetype of fantasy fiction: The Mentor/The Wizard. Ogion is the quintessential mentor, as after Ged saves the village, he takes Ged on as an apprentice and tries to teach him all he knows about magic. He also acts as a father figure, more so than his real father back at the village, as he understands Ged's burden of magic and the usual problems associated with growing up.

Once Ged leaves Ogion after growing restless under his tutelage, as well as almost summoning the shadow who is the main villain in the story, we move on to a third archetype: The Shadow. In Earthsea's case, the shadow archetype is literally a shadow; a being of pure evil that is unwittingly summoned by Ged, and is basically a manifestation of his innermost fears. The shadow in Earthsea acts as the villain, but isn't one of the typical villains in normal fantasy stories as the shadow isn't human. Once Ged leaves Ogion, he goes to the school on the island of Roke, and learns a lot within the school. However, because he is still so young and prideful, he turns all that around when he tries to summon a dead spirit. The shadow that manifested while under Ogion now finds a way to be summoned into the world. During this ordeal, his face gets scarred by the shadow before being driven off by the Archmage of the school, Nemmerle. However, Nemmerle uses up all of his power driving it away, and ultimately dies.