Archetype: definition and examples
An archetype is a recurring pattern of character, plot or symbol, such as the mentor or the trickster, that readers recognize across stories and cultures.
An archetype is a shape readers already know: the wise mentor, the trickster, the monster at the door. Recognizing it takes a second, which lets a writer skip explanation. The craft is using the pattern as a starting point, then giving the character details no other mentor or trickster has.
A pattern, not a person
Archetypes appear in myths, fairy tales and novels from every culture because they answer the same human questions. Who guides us? Who tempts us? What waits in the dark? An archetype gives a character that job before the reader knows anything else about them.
The word also has a psychological sense from Carl Jung. Writers sometimes treat a popular chart of twelve personality types, built on his ideas, as the only list. Literary archetypes are broader: stories, situations and symbols can be archetypal too, like the journey home or the forbidden door.
Examples
"You know my methods."
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
The genius detective, reasoning from small evidence. Almost every fictional detective since has had to answer to this pattern.
"The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor."
Dracula, Chapter II, Bram Stoker
The predator in human form. Stoker's count set the shape for a century of vampires.
"Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil."
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Chapter 10, Robert Louis Stevenson
The shadow self, the darkness a respectable person keeps hidden, given a body of its own.
"I thought I knew what a buccaneer was like—a very different creature, according to me, from this clean and pleasant-tempered landlord."
Treasure Island, Chapter VIII, Robert Louis Stevenson
Long John Silver is the trickster as false friend. Jim is charmed before he is warned. So is the reader.
Start with the pattern, then break it
Genre readers want to recognize the mentor or the rival quickly so the story can get moving. Give them the familiar outline. Then add one or two details that belong only to this character: a mentor who is wrong about something important, a villain with a reason you almost agree with.
If you are stuck on how to twist an archetype, ask [Brainstorm](/features/brainstorm) for five ways this particular mentor could surprise a reader. React to the list and keep whatever fits your story.
Common mistakes
Confusing archetype with stereotype
MasterClass draws the line well: an archetype uses the template as a starting place, a stereotype uses it as the end point.
Treating one chart as the only list
Popular twelve-type charts are useful, but archetypes include plots and symbols as well as personalities.
Common questions
- What is the difference between an archetype and a stereotype?
- An archetype is a pattern with room to grow. A stereotype is a fixed, reductive label, often about a group of people. Writers use archetypes on purpose; stereotypes are what happen when a character gets no further development.
- What are common character archetypes?
- The hero, the mentor, the trickster, the shadow, the innocent and the caregiver appear on most lists. They are starting points, not boxes every character must fit. ---
Related terms
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