Archetypes, Shadow Archetypes, and Stereotypes Related to the Beginning of the Journey:

Northrup Frye says that the Romance presents an idealized world, the black-and-white world of our desires, where good things are really good, and bad things are really bad. The Romance involves the Journey, and the Journey involves the Hero, the Villain, the Quest, the Sage, the Prohibition, the Sacrifice, the Dragon, the Treasure, and sometimes the rescue of the Maiden.

The epiphany (mountain top, tower, island, lighthouse, ladder, staircase, Jack’s beanstalk, Rapunzel’s hair, Indian rope trick etc.) connects Heaven and Earth. Carl Jung said that there are archetypes and shadow archetypes related to the preparation for the journey (the innocent, the orphan, the warrior, and the caregiver).

The Innocent moves from an unquestioning acceptance of the environment through experiencing disillusionment (fall) to a return to Paradise as a wise innocent. Examples include the Brady Bunch, Forrest Gump, Bambi, Gomez Adams, Leo the Late Bloomer, The Little Mermaid, and Pinocchio.

The Orphan moves from accepting pain and loss through accepting the need for help to becoming independent and working with others. Examples include Charlie Brown, Cinderella, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry Finn, Frankenstein’s Monster, Maniac McGee, Oedipus, Harry Potter, Peter Rabbit, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

The Warrior moves from fighting and cheating simply for the sake of fighting to fighting within the rules for others and for what really matters on an unselfish level. Examples include Batman, Lancelot, Ulysses, Joan of Arc, Jo in Little Women, Robin Hood, 3 Musketeers, Superman, and Darth Vader.

The Caregiver moves from overcoming a conflict between one’s own needs and those of others through empowering others (tough love), to a willingness to help beyond immediate family (a global level). Examples include Gepetto in Pinnocchio, Holden Caulfield, The Giving Tree, Horton, “The Jewish Mother,” Mary Poppins, Pygmalion, Anne Sullivan, Mother Theresa, and The Velveteen Rabbit.

Can you think of other archetypes or shadow archetypes (ala Northrup Frye and Carl Jung) relating to the beginning of the journey?

Don and Alleen Nilsen “Humor Across the Academic Disciplines” PowerPoints:

https://www.public.asu.edu/~dnilsen/