Our masqurade: Achetypes

Archetypes and 

20|01|20

We discussed the different types of archetypes in literature and theatre; I contributed my knowledge of personas in this lesson and enjoyed acting out the different characters of each archetype. We wandered around the room taking on the role of each archetypical person and 

Archetypical women

The damsel in distress/The innocent- virginal and beautiful and despite their apparent helplessness their strengths lie in purity which makes them untouchable. Generally, female or at least feminine. In Camilla Paglia's book ‘Sexual personae’ characters who reject ‘brutal pagan forces’ I.e. sex and nature are Apollonian and god-like because of this they’re likely to be the love interest of the hero. With this particular character I wrapped my arms around my middle and glanced up at the world from under my eyelashes.

The huntress/Diana the huntress/Athena- A subversive, warrior woman, bent on her own agenda. Powerful and still attainable by men. Most likly the assertive heronine of the story.

The Venus- the ultimatum of feminine beauty, desired by all men. Typically, in modern plots she would be comparable to the 'hottest girl in school' or 'the popular girl'-blonde, beautiful and elegant.

Archetypical men

The hero- Prideful and stereotypically masculine, these men are particularly skilled and tend to know it; they're clever, physically and mentally strong. They were born to win/defeat the villain and win the heart of the damsel.

The wise old man- A wizened, ancient scholar; he's wise and moral but no longer has the power to defeat evil himself so he must guide the young hero/heroine

Some other archetypes I personally researched:

Femme fatale/Medusa/Lilith- they’re the opposite of the damsel; mature, sultry and evidently sexual, in Sexual personae Paglia describes the female vampire- alluring and dangerous. Although she is powerful, her baseness makes her villainous and even disgusting. She is unfavourable and unlikely to be the main love-interest in literature because of her Dionysian nature.

The male heroine/the passive male sufferer- They're gentle, brooding and fragile. He's an opinionless observer who seems to have no real objectives, this is infact not the case because of his primarly feminine nature he's often a nurturer and acts on this rather than on a desire to 'be the best' or 'defeat evil'.