The New Poetics 211 How to use this Course

Alternate Titles: These are other names for the same character, each emphesizing a different aspect of the character. There are actually eight aspect names for each character, but not all of them are known. Sometimes there are also specific archetypal words for resonances, shadows, split characters and other variants. For the purposes of this basic introduction we list only a few of these, in no particular order.

Archetypal Events: Each character has ten archetypal events: five that take place in relation to another character, and five that take place when the character is alone. As these are not all known for most characters, we have listed those that we have already discovered, and will continue to add to the lists as time goes on.

Common Plots: A few examples of plots that frequently occur from the perspective of this character.

Next there is a list of the most important symbols of the character being described. There are many, many variants for each of these and the student will learn how to generate these in a later course. The version given here is the purest form currently known, in the Concrete Aspect and the Royal Scale. A Supply is something which the character has in limited quantities, when it runs out this usually prompts a major plot development -- often the end of the story. The Prize is a thing that this character is liable to go questing after. The Monument is a symbolic commemoration of the hero and his/her deeds. The others are self-explanatory.

Home
Supply
Weapon
Clothing
Prize
Monument
Minor Symbols

Finally, we include the Red Square as it looks built from the perspective of the character being studied.

The King

Alternate Titles: Prince, Rightful Heir, Bridegroom, Lover

The King is the archetypal realization of the idea of legitimate worldly authority. Under his auspices, the Kingdom is guaranteed to prosper -- whether it is a broad kingdom of valleys and dells, or a kingdom of a single hearth and a woman's heart. His authority derives its legitimacy from the fact that it is always directed towards the highest good for his people or his Princess. This is why he is often to be found traipsing around the world, or his army camp, dressed as a commoner. It is important to him to know what his people need, in order that he can provide it. His willingness to stand against the enemies of the realm in single combat -- rather than subject his subjects to needless danger in battle -- is an eloquent testimony to the sincerity of his political priorities.
In many cases, the King's story begins before he has actually managed to claim his throne. In these stories he must overcome various obstacles in order either to win the girl, or to become the King. If he is involved in a Romance plot, there is only one woman in the world, and he will overcome all obstacles to prove himself worthy of her hand.

Archetypal Events: Survey Kingdom, Foot Washing, Banquet, Herald Quest, Single Combat, Rally

Common King Plots:

Return of the King: The line of Kings was broken long ago, and the Kingdom has fallen into disrepair -- the stewards are corrupt, or there simply isn't any leadership to speak of. The rightful heir is persuaded, usually with some reluctance, to go forth and claim the throne of his fathers.

Rescue the Princess: The Princess has been captured by a Usurper and dragged off into his underworld lair. The Prince descends through death and trials in order to bring her back and make her his wife.

Most Worthy Suitor: The old king has declared open season on the hand of his daughter and half the Kingdom. The Prince must perform deeds of valour in order to prove himself worthy.

The King's Castle: Although he is willing to go slumming it amongst the commoners, and may be found in exile at certain points during his plot, the King's proper home is a castle. Specifically, it is a place of grandeur where he is able to adequately govern his Kingdom and provide for the needs of his bride. The Castle, like the Kingdom, responds to the King's presence: when he is there, it is in order and all of its inhabitants are happy. When he is away, a pall is cast over it which does not lift until he has returned.
The Sword of Great Reknown: The proper weapon for a King is a sword; but it is almost never an ordinary, common sword. It is often a named sword, old beyond telling, possessed of magical properties and forged by the gods. Often, it belongs to him alone and he is the only one who is able or qualified to use it. Odysseus' bow is a variant on the theme: Odysseus was a Rogue when he left for Troy, but the bow that he left behind is Kingly: Odysseus himself is the only man capable of drawing it.
The King's Crown: The circle is the most perfect of the shapes, and gold is the most perfect of metals. These elements combined are a powerful symbol of divine authority; the King, by placing the crown on his head places himself under the authority of God, indicating that the authority he brings to his Kingdom is neither arbitrary nor self-serving.
The Throne of the Heart: At the centre of the human heart there is a seat, and whatever is placed on this throne has primacy over all other loyalties. The throne has been made to be the seat of the other -- a person who seats himself on the throne of his own heart is self-centred; a person who puts something less than human on it is enslaved to lower things. When the Lover is placed on the throne, everything else falls into order: his right to rule is founded on selfless concern and love, which allows the person to place him or herself under authority without becoming subject to exploitation. Whether the King ascends to the throne of the Kingdom, or to the throne of his beloved's heart, this is the reality that is reflected when he claims his prize.
Minor Symbols: Horses, Gold

The Rogue

Alternate Titles: Knight Errant, Faithful Servant, Hunter, Bard

There are two essential manifestations of the Rogue: the first is in a plot where he is opposed to some sort of illegitimate authority. Under these circumstances he may become a highwayman, a prince of theives, a rebel leader, a secret agent, a raider of tombs. Armed with a heroic concern for justice, and a jaunty delight in breaking unjust laws, he goes forth to deprive the unworthy of their ill-gotten treasures, and to bestow them on the poor and the oppressed.
Now, should the rightful King happen to ride into the plot and establish himself on the throne, the character of the Rogue is modified accordingly. His bravery, uncanny skill, and willingness to undertake absurd quests put him in the ideal position to serve as a faithful Knight, carrying out the more outlandish and romantic of the King's designs.
Many Rogues combine these two aspects very successfully -- 007 is as faithful to the British Crown as he is lawless in his pursuit of Her Majesty's goals; Robin Hood may rob everyone who passes through Sherwood Forest, but he is more than happy to place himself in the service of Richard the Lionheart on the monarch's return.
In Romance plots, the political side of the Rogue's character is often neglected. He becomes a slightly disreputable figure, particularly in the eyes of the woman he intends to court. His vulgarity may be attractive, particularly to Princesses tired of the polished insularity of court life, or it may be repugnant, particularly if he is romancing his Lover -- the Shrew. This is, of course, the classic plot of many romantic comedies from Shakespeare to modern film, where the protagonists play at hating each other as they fall ever deeper in love.

Archetypal Events: Hunt, Plan, Disguise, White Elephant, Grant Safe Passage, Liberate

Common Rogue Plots:

Treasure Hunt: An ancient treasure has fallen into the wrong hands, or is at risk of falling into them, and it must be recouped. The Rogue's claim to the treasure is usually justified either because a) the treasure will be used for evil by his opponents, b) he has some sort of legitimate claim to it, or c) he intends to hand it over to someone who does have a legitimate claim.

Just Rebellion: The evil empire has spread its shroud over the realm, and a band of courageous outlaws are the only force that stands between the oppressed populace and perpetual tyrrany. The Rogue leads this band of heroes as they seek to restore the plundered wealth of the common man, to destroy the infrastructure of oppression, and to bring the usurperous government to ruin.

Taming of the Shrew: The Shrew mislikes the Rogue, the Rogue is hardened against romance, and they're both determined to have the last word. Bound together by the bonds of their perpetual squabble, they spit venom at one another until, by some means or other, the Shrew's pride is broken and she consents to love him.

The Unattainable Woman: The Rogue is smitten from the moment that he first lays eyes on the Princess, but he is not worthy of her. He can show her a wonderful time, they can laugh together, he can write her the most fabulously romantic verses, and fight to keep the scoundrels from his lady's skirts, but their love is not to be. Even so, he does not become the wounded lost-lover, wandering the streets of Paris and mooning like a pathetic puppy; he is still a Rogue, and he will always have his panache.

The Fallen Knight: He is supposed to go a courting in the name of his King, but the alleged Princess turns out to be a Nymph. The poor loyal Knight falls prey to her charms, and they become entwined in an affair of mutually assured destruction.

The Ship: Like most left-hand male heroes, the Rogue is transient. The most archetypal form of his home is the ship, or boat. This vessel is a sort of floating island, a kingdom apart from any kingdom, and it grants him autonomy from the unjust rulers that he opposes. The Rogue's ship is very often outfitted with special powers -- whether it is a car that can turn into a boat and also shoot missiles out of its headlights, or the fastest merchantman on the brine.
Ammunition: When the Rogue runs out of bullets, arrows, cannonballs, insults, etc. this generally signals that the end of his plot is near. It means that he is no longer inapproachable, able to strike from out of reach, and can be therefore captured. If he is against a Usurper, this often means death. If he is against a Shrew, it means that he is ready to submit to love.
The Bow: The traditional form of this weapons is a long-bow, but the essence of it is that it is a long-range weapon that is used with uncanny accuracy; a sniper rifle or masterfully handled bull-whip will serve the same basic purpose. It is often used as a weapon of rescue, to cut through a noose around a friend's neck or to break the ropes that hold together an enemy seige engine.
The Hood: If the King's crown is designed to show forth his authority to the world, the Rogue's hood is designed for exactly the opposite purpose: it is used to shield his face, as a kind of disguise, and it grants him a measure of anonymity. A large brimmed hat that throws shadows across the face or a kerchief that covers the nose and mouth are variations on the theme. When the hood becomes a hat (in between a hood and a crown), it is often invested with special significance, and the Rogue will go back against absurd odds to rescue it if it is lost.
The Treasure: The most traditional of prizes belongs to the Rogue. It cannot be just any treasure: it must have great, and preferably mystical significance. It must be unique, and it must be obscenely difficult to come by. This can include anything from the Holy Grail to a Shrew's love.
Ballad: Rogues, if they are immortalized, tend to be immortalized in song. This derives to a certain extent from the general red-square concern with songs and singing, but the ballad is especially appropriate to the Rogue because the minstrel who sings it is a sort of lesser Rogue who looks up to the one who has already completed his quest.
Minor Symbols: Cloak, Shadows

\	The Princess

Alternate Titles: Beauty, Maiden, Damsel, Beloved

This is that feminine heroic archetype that feminists despise. There's really no way around it: she's sweet, beautiful, largely passive, and she is available as a prize to the most worthy suitor. She stands singing at windows and flowers spring up beneath her feet as she frolics through the meadows. Men's hearts melt before her grace, and merely to see her is to love her. Modern attempts to gussy her up as a lively, spunky, self-determinining are generally doomed to failure. In the best examples, she shifts archetypally and becomes a Shrew. In the worst, (Disney's Little Mermaid comes to mind) she becomes a self-important brat. This is because the Princess is Woman possessed of every natural grace: she has wealth, beauty, charm, learning, etc. etc. Only through humility, only by turning these graces over to the other, can she avoid becoming insufferably proud or wontonly dissolute.
That said, the Princess is capable of great integrity. Whether she cleverly thwarts the throngs of suitors who are gobbling up Odysseus' wealth, or endures a year without eating in the depths of the Underworld, her submissiveness is neither indescriminate, nor is it the result of weakness. She is not simply available to whomever wishes to take her. Only the one who is truly worthy, and perfectly suited to her, may claim her hand.

Examples:

Archetypal Events: Sleep, Radiate (light, flowers, peace, etc.), Become Apparelled, Sing, Look out the Window, Marry, Charm, Promise, Play, Explore the Castle

Common Princess Plots:

The Tale of True Love: The Princess is terribly lonely, even though flowers spring up under her feet and the birds sing to accomany her every move, she yearns desperately for love. Her adventures carry her very nearly into the arms of many ill-suited men, until at last she finds her Prince, and it is love at first sight.

Into the Underworld: A Usurper arises from a deep and dangerous realm, under the mountain, beneath the opera, or in the land of the dead. He seizes/seduces the Princess and carries her away into darkness. She may, later, be rescued by a Prince.

The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth: The Prince and Princess are in love -- until her virtue is besmirched by the some vile Trickster's schemes. In the best of cases, this leads to a delightful comedy of errors, and all's well that end's well. In the worst, she is murdered, or dies or grief, and only too late is her innocence revealed.

Who's the Fairest of them All?: A Princess must flee the spiteful designs of a jealous Psiren who cannot bear the thought that another woman is more beautiful, and more beloved, than she.

The Princess' Chamber: The Princess' home is the most intimate room of her palace. It represents her virginity, which is emblematic of the purity of her heart, and also her innocence: the reader can enter her bedchamber without shame or titillation, because it has a sort of Edenic, unfallen quality to it. It is also an ideal place to sleep or look out of windows from. Because her home is so small, the Princess is able to leave it without actually going very far; the corridors of the rest of the palace often contain sinister old women, buried secrets, or dire adventures for the Princess who goes wandering in them.
The Princess' Thorns: The Princess possesses natural defenses that prevent anyone who is unworthy from getting near to her. When this is physically manifested, it is often as a barrier of thorns or a wall that will only part for the rightful prince. The unreasonable quest set by her father, in which unworthy suitors are pruned away, is an abstracted form of this weapon.
Minor Symbols: Hair, Rose, Dowry

The Shrew

Alternate Titles: Matchmaker, Captains Daughter

She's fiesty, self-possessed, with a tongue as sharp as barbed wire, and she is never, never, never, going to get married. In spite of this, she is often interested in other people's marriages. She pictures herself becoming a sort of wise spinster, one to whom everyone else looks for advice in matters of love, but for whom Cupid's arrows have no sting. Naturally, she is dead wrong.
The classic Shrew story is the Reluctant Romance, but she is capable of appearing in other guises. She often appears in rebel-Rogue plots as the hero's Lover -- not as a Shrew who is never going to give in, but as one who has already fallen in love and who is now ready to go out with her Lover and ply her tongue against the nearest Usurper. Whereas the captured Princess sits liltingly by the window, singing her songs of eternal optimism in the hopes of luring a saviour-Prince, the Shrew is much more likely to struggle, scream, yell, kick up a fuss, and make herself such a nuisance that the evil one is happy to see her go.
Regardless of whether she is in a Romantic or a Heroic plot, this is not a Heroine that can safely be left at home. She's your goddam partner, and she's coming with you, whether you want her tagging along or not. Fortunately, she is quite resourceful, adept at bashing baddies over the head with Ming vases and ukeleles, and she can hold her own in a battle of wits or cups.

Archetypal Events: Tantrum, Call a Spade a Spade, Refuse, Relent, Lessons

Common Shrew Plots:
Reluctant Romance: The Shrew does not believe that she is ever going to fall in love. The right man comes along, but he does not conform to her ideals: he is too vulgar, too arrogant, too rude, and in any case, men cannot be trusted. Eventually she realizes that she really might lose him forever, at which point she panics and admits that she's in love.

The Headstrong Daughter: A King has a Shrewish daughter and he must somehow get her into shape in order to marry her off. Either he eventually turns her into a true Princess, or in the course of trying to run away from his designs she meets the Rogue of her dreams and falls in love.

Matchmaker: The Shrew has a Princess sidekick who she is determined to marry off. She undertakes to eliminate unworthy suitors on the Princess' behalf, and imparts her worldly wisdom in order to prevent the relatively sheltered Princess from being deceived by Tricksters or conquered by Usurpers.

The Shrew's Parlour: Unlike the Princess, the Shrew is not going to entertain guests and suitors in the intimacy of her bedchamber. Instead she has a parlour, which is, in essence, a place where she shows off her best characteristics to those who she wants to impress, and where she feels free to exercise her tongue on those she does not. With a particularly Roguish Shrew, the parlour might turn into a beer-parlour of which she is patroness.
Refusal to Eat: The Shrew's great vice is an unwillingness to submit to any authority for fear of submitting to unjust authority. Whether she is in rebellion against her father, or against a villain, she is often inclined to use hunger fasts to get her way. Another variant is where she refuses to eat the available food because it is too coarse for her, or refuses to come down to dinner because she doesn't like the company. When she relents on this point, it means that she her invulnerability is compromised.
The Musical Club: Shrews are not provided with the natural defenses of a Princess, and so they have to fend for themselves, generally with whatever is at hand. The less like a weapon that this object is, the better. The most perfect and ideal form of her improvised club is a musical instrument.
Minor Symbols: Red Hair

The Usurper

Alternate Titles: Tyrant, Evil Uncle, Steward, Emperor

He lives underground, in the bowels of the mountain, guarding a horde of stolen gold. Occasionally, he emerges into the light to murder the rightful King and seize his throne, or to take the Princess captive and carry her down into his underworld lair. His ambitions are without limit, but his acquisitions are his prison. Within the private fortress of his stolen realm, he is king, but to go out of it is to court his death, for he is owned by all of the things that he possesses and literally cannot exist without them.
Avarice and power-lust are usually the ruling passions of this type, though they are not immune to the ordinary sins of the flesh. Ordinary women are counted amongst the trophies that they gather in their lair, but there is often one particular woman -- usually someone else's woman -- who they have an overwhelming and disordered desire to possess.

For some reason, Usurpers appear with unusual regularity as perspective villains. Whether it is the robber baron, the gangster boss, the regicide, or the wife-stealer, this man of great passions and ruthless ambitions seems to have a certain sympathetic appeal. In analyzing works, it's important to look out for this: even when Heathcliff hangs a pet dog and leaves it on Catherine's lawn, for some reason it's easy to miss the fact that he is evil. Part of this is caused, no doubt, by the fact that the virtuous Prince from the perspective of the Usurper, generally looks like a limpid, snot-nosed ponce who is too weak to deserve his throne or his bride. When this is written or portrayed convincingly, it is difficult to recognize that the rightful heir or husband actually has a legitimate claim.

Archetypal Events: Count Gold, Behead, Hallucinate, Boss, Orgy, Auto-Apocalypse (Self-Conflagration)

Common Usurper Plots:

Kidnap the Princess: The Usurper seizes the Princess, often while she is innocently at play, and locks her away. Often he intends to secure his claim to the throne by forcing her into marriage with him, but in some cases he is merely desirous of a Queen to share his underworld realm.

Murder the King: The Usurper plots the murder of the King in order to secure the throne. Very often the King is his brother, which places him next in line, though some particularly ambitious Usurpers are willing to run down a list of seven or eight heirs apparent in order to secure their claims. Usually there is a young Prince, not yet of age, waiting in the wings to destroy the Usurper and restore the rightful line.

Grand Heist: The Usurper is of a gangster/robber baron type, grown discontent with small plots and trifling sums. He settles on a plot to rob the royal treasury (or the biggest bank in the city, or Fort Knox, etc.)

Orgy of Blood: The Usurper and his army oust the King, put all of the royal family to the sword, and begin a reign of terror. Blood pours through the streets of the city, the heads of those who fail to abase themselves before his feet grace the parapets of the castle, and the Usurper sits with his hands drenched in blood, counting his stolen wealth. Terrors begin to asail him, his paranoia increases, and he is haunted by the ghosts of those he has slain. If he is not eventually driven from the throne by a Prince or Princess who secretly survived the slaughter, he eventually goes utterly insane and takes the entire Kingdom down with him in a violent self-holocaust.
 

The Bowels of the Mountain: The Usurper lives in an underworld, very often in the heart of a mountain. This can be transformed into a tower from which he surveys his domain, but he if so he is often to be found lurking in the dungeons beneath the man-made mountain -- and he almost invariably keeps his treasure underground. Darkness, barrenness and isolation are all typical features of the Usurper's domain.
A Shortage of Unconquered Lands: The Usurper is driven by ambition; it is his reason for being, but his aquisitions do not bring him happiness. When he has finished Usurping everything that he desires, he turns inward and starts to self-digest. His ambition vanishes, life becomes "a walking shadow," and he enters into a period of quazi-mystical nihilistic ecstasy before embarking upon his final destruction.
The Ring: Upon the Usurper's finger is a signet ring, symbolizing the authority that he weilds in a movement of his hand. This power is not placed atop his head -- he is not under it -- it serves him. The circle becomes a closed loop, and it is often forged from some darker metal than gold, or else is set with a sinister blood-red stone. A Ring of a snake eating its own tail is particularly appropriate. (The Rings in Niebelung and Lord of the Rings are complicated -- they do symbolize power and usurpation, but since these are multi-square stories, the Rings don't necessarily imply that the wearer, or forger, is a Usurper in all cases.)
The Horde: The Usurper is not content with individual treasures and must always have obscene quantities of whatever he craves. He does not do anything with it, but buries it in the ground and broods over it like a vulture over an ill-begotten egg.
Minor Symbols: Dragon, Iron, Mastiff

The Trickster

       
Alternate Titles: Gambler, Fox, Imp

The trickster is a potentially difficult character to uncover, simply because the term is used in various different archetypal and interpretive traditions to mean a variety of different things, some of which are, and some of which are not, tricksters in the sense that we're using it here. For example, Joseph Campbell and his ilk tend to refer to any sort of tricksy character as a trickster -- including several heroic types (i.e. the Fool and the Magus) who use tricks or riddles in order to elucidate truths. It is also sometimes used simply to indicate that a character is liable to change alignment several times over the course of a story, as Gollum does in The Lord of the Rings.
Put all of that aside. The Trickster, as a distinct archetype, is a character that is both a) deliberately malevolant or mischeivious, and b) deliberately tricksy. Someone who flip-flops because they are in the throes of an interior moral struggle is discounted, as is the good character who uses trickery to thwart the villain.
The classic Trickster is generally engaged in some sort of swindle. He desires something that belongs to someone else -- be it a pile of pirate's gold or a churn of butter -- and he sets out armed with traps, snares, lies and cheats in order to attain it. He is never to be trusted, and generally works for his own gain. Occasionally, he will appear to switch sides -- to betray a Usurper to whom he is playing Sidekick -- but generally this is just ruse, and he is liable to turn again on those whom he has helped.
In Romance plots, the Trickster will generally appear as a sort of slimy-slick suitor, the sort of man who will take a girl for a ride, tear her away from the arms of her rightful suitor, and then abandon her at his leisure. He may look more respectable and desirable than his enemy, the Rogue, but in fact his superficial charm is merely the whitewash on a fickle and faithless heart. The Trickster is often an accomplished gambler, and usually smooth-tongued. In some cases, he seems to delight in causing mischief for mischief's sake, whether as an impish meddler who confuses the course of true love, or as a malicious plotter whose designs lead to wrongful and murderous revenge.

Archetypal Events: Gamble, lie, slieght of hand, flatter, steal, frame, one last chance

Common Trickster Plots:

The Big Con: The Trickster convinces a group of associates to go in with him on a scheme to get rich quick, often by scamming a Prince or a Usurper. He intends to take all of the money for himself, but since his associates tend to be lesser Tricksters, minor Usurpers, Nymphs and Sirens, they tend to have the same plan. This plot often ends with the evaporation of the reward into thin air.

Besmirch the Princess: The Trickster bears some sort of hatred or grudge against the Princess' husband (usually a Prince, but may be a Rogue or Usurper instead), so he concocts an elaborate scheme to demonstrate that the Princess has been unfaithful. The Princess is murdered or dies of grief as a result. In its comic manifestation, the Trickster's machinations are uncovered before the Princess actually dies, and he is punished for his trickery.

A Multiplication of Tricks: The Trickster goes about the countryside playing tricks on everyone he meets. Sometimes he gets something out of it, sometimes he only gets the satisfaction of laughing at his dupes. In many folk tales and fairy tales, this is the whole plot: he never comes to justice, and the moral of the story is "don't be a dupe."

The False Friend: The Trickster befriends a heroic character (generally a Rogue) and gives them advice on how to gain what they desire. He appears to be innocent, harmless, and even helpful until the treasure, or woman, comes into view. Then he attempts to snatch it for himself.

The Trickster's Hideout: The essential features of the Trickster's home is that it is either remote or difficult to find (through the secret door at the back of some apparently innocent establishment, for example), and that it possesses a back-door out of which the Trickster can escape at a moment's notice.
Credit Limit: The Trickster has a limited supply of credit or credibility; once it is exhausted no one will be fooled by his tricks anymore, or he will lack the start-up capital to finance his schemes. He commonly seeks an extension by claiming to be a reformed character, or by arguing that there are some sort of extenuating circumstances that render him trustworthy in this one case.
The Trickster's Poison-tipped Secret Concealed Stab-in-the-Back: The Trickster's weapon may be a throwing knife, or a spring-loaded cyanide fountain pen, a booby trap, a dagger concealed in a stuffed animal, or a south-american blow-dart. The essence of the weapon is that it is concealed, is used for surprise attacks, and that it requires no courage to use it.
Gloves: Just as the King's crown becomes the Rogue's concealing hood, the Usurper's ring becomes the Trickster's glove. Whereas the hood hides who the Rogue is, the gloves hide what the Trickster is doing.
The Last Laugh: Although all of the Trickster's machinations are often directed towards the acquisition of a huge stack of money, what he actually wants is the satisfaction of having duped everyone else. In its redeemed form, this becomes a Rogue's laughter when he loses his prize at the end of a quest.
Minor Symbols: Cards

The Psiren

Alternate Titles: Temptress, Ice Witch, Sorceress Queen

This is one of the archetypes that appears most frequently in high-school courses about archetypal theory, usually under the name of Temptress. However this can lead to some confusion, because it's a term that is used rather broadly to refer to any woman whose sexuality brings about the downfall of the hero -- and, depending on the hero, that could be almost any type of woman. We use "Psiren" to refer to a very specific kind of villainess who does, in many cases, use her sexuality and her beauty to destroy men, but who is also capable of acting in stories where there are no male characters of consequence. It is also worth noting that the Psiren is very conscious of what she is doing. She is not a Helen of Troy whose beauty brings about war, strife and heartbreak without her intending any ill.
Just as the Princess is associated with the flowers and greenery of spring and summer, the Psiren is often associated with winter -- as in the case of the numerous ice witches and snow queens that people world mythology. Her beauty is cold and sterile, and whereas the Princess lends beauty to everything that she touches, the Psiren wishes to jealously horde all beauty for herself. She uses her charms to lure people to their doom -- whether it is by spreading a net of her hair on the bottom of the sea, or by offering the innocent princess a poisoned apple. Men are wrecked on the rocks of her beauty, and women crushed for the sake of her desire to be the mistress of every heart.
If she leaves the realm of the Romance story, she often slides towards a Userperous personality: she becomes ambitious, avaricious, and power hungry. In the role of Lover, she urges (and sometimes forces) the Usurper into greater evils than he would have contemplated himself. When she stands alone, she desires the whole world to fall in worshipful adoration at her feet.

Archetypal Events: Seduce, Entrap, Freeze the Heart, Dominate

Common Psiren Plots:

Come Into My Parlour: The Psiren lures men into her clutches in order to destroy them. She is liable to turn them into jewels on her necklace, or statues in her drive, or ghosts trapped in her crystal mirror so that she can croon lovingly over the thought of her past conquests.

Who's the Fairest of them All: The Psiren discovers that another woman (usually a Princess) is more beautiful than her. She goes insane with jealousy and tries to do away with her rival.

The Usurper Queen: The Psiren is determined to hold and keep power over a realm, usually over and against the King, though in some versions there really is not a rightful King standing by the take power from her. She uses her sexual charms in order to manipulate various men around her into allowing her to maintain her control and expand her territory (in children's lit, this is cleverly disguised as turkish delight)

Outside, Over There: Whereas the Princess lives in the inner chamber of the palace, close to the heart of the Kingdom, the Psiren lives out in the dangerous wilderness beyond the rule of law. This can be the snowy peak at the top of a mountain, or an ice palace beyond the edges of the world, or it could be Egypt to ancient Rome.
The Spell Breaks: The Psiren has a supply of charm, which may be symbolized by a spell or magic potion. Sooner or later, the hero, or one of the heroes, sees past her superficial beauty and beholds her for what she is. A broken mirror is often a concrete manifestation of this.
The Spider's Web: Psirens are often associated with spiders, particularly black widows, and her weapon is a web or snare into which she draws her victims. Sometimes this is symbolized by clothing that looks like a spider's web: a black crocheted shawl, fishnet stockings, a hair net, etc. When the web is made of hair (a Princess symbol) it is particularly powerful.
The Psiren's Necklace: Often possessed of a mesmeric power, the Psiren's necklace draws all eyes towards her charms. It may be a magic necklace, or a strand of pearls, or an elaborate display of diamonds, but it is essentially a snare which she wears around her neck.
Minor Symbols: Looking Glass

The Nymph

Alternate Titles: The Star-Crossed Lover

The ruling vice of the Nymph is the desire to be loved in the wrong way, by the wrong men. Her love is of two kinds: first, there is the casually destructive flirtation with which she inadvertently lures men to their doom; second, there is an intense and disordered possessive love that tends to lead her lovers, and herself, into death. The problem with the Nymph's love is essentially that she has very little in herself. She desires to be treated as though she were a priceless treasure, but in fact her lovable qualities -- if they exist at all -- are superficial, overlying a sort of emptiness. Her desire is for her beloved to come and fill this emptiness. If she cannot have him, she has nothing, and so she dies of grief.
That is assuming that the Nymph has fallen in love at all, but she is perfectly capable of being destructive on a whim, triflingly, if she hasn't given her heart to any particular man. This is the woman who casually opens the box in which all the evils of the world are contained. The woman who causes men to march to their destruction with a flicker of her eyelashes (Helen of Troy can be interpreted in several different ways, but there is certainly a poetic tradition of using her as a symbol of the classic obliviously destructive Nymph). Often it is difficult to hold her entirely responsible for the evils that she unleashes, because it is done out of a sort of ignorance, and because she generally gives the impression of being entirely incapable of doing anything other than what she has done. Treated romantically, she is the star-crossed lover, gripped by the wheels of fate, utterly unable to forestall her own doom.

Archetypal Events: Bathe, Tease, Die of Grief, Stare Off to Sea

Common Nymph Plots:

Star-Crossed Lover: The Nymph falls hopelessly in love with a man whom she is forbidden to love (often because she is married or promised to another). She pines for him, will do anything in order to be with him, and ultimately either commits suicide, is murdered for unfaithfulness or dies of grief when the love affair proves impossible.

He Saw her Bathing on the Roof: A male hero, very often a King or Prince, spies the Nymph bathing. Either this immediately sentences him to death, or his reason is overrun and he is possessed of a mad desire to have her. In mythological and fairy-tale sources this descent into lustful madness is often symbolized by the hero turning into some sort of animal. The Nymph is often oblivious to the effect that she is having, but if approached she will give herself to him without considering the consequences.

The Tease: The Nymph has something which a Usurper desires -- it could be a treasure, gold from the bottom of her pond, or her own sexuality. She doesn't care for him, and isn't interested in giving him anything, but she takes delight in flirting and teasing him while laughing behind his back. Eventually he tires of the game and seizes what he wants by force.

Disordered Curiosity: The Nymph has been given a treasure that she may not open, or has fallen in love with a man who she only sees in darkness. She has been promised that doom and destruction will come upon her, and often on the man that she loves as well, if she can't control herself. She cannot control herself. As a result, a spell is broken, a curse descends, her lover dies, or evil is unleashed upon the world.

The Bathing Pool: A mossy grotto deep in the forest where men are forbidden to peer, a sunny resort lagoon, a ritzy swimming pool, a roof-top hot-tub, or a bath surrounded by maids-in-waiting are all appropriate homes for a Nymph. This may be inverted into an island (c.f. Calypso, the Lady of Shallot) if her isolation is going to be emphasized over her idle seductiveness.
The Curse: The Nymph has a supply of fortune -- it may be a strand of hair held by the fates, a life-line on her palm, the duration of a magic portion; or it may simply be that some doom has been foretold against her and one day the stars are going to come up wrong.
The Mask: The Nymph is always fundamentally unknown. She wears whatever will please, and is willing to change her personality, and thus her face, for the sake of her suitors. The mask is often transformed into a veil, or a gossamer scarf, or a billowing cloud of hair that entices by concealing (and thus suggesting) her nudity. If she is seen in her full nakedness -- in the interior truth of herself -- this is death, either to her or to the man who dared to look.
Minor Symbols: Moonlight

A Simple Example: Snow White

    A Snow White is a simple Princess vs. Psiren story. The only characters that are properly developed are Snow White and the wicked Queen, though we can see enough of the outline of other characters to see their archetypes. Snow White is an obvious Princess: she is the fairest in the land, an unwed maiden, the daughter of a King, and the only archetypal actions that she performs in the course of the story are descending amongst the commoners (borrowed from the Prince, though in its Princess form it is modified slightly; instead of going out and pretending to be a commoner, she lowers herself to perform the work of a common serving girl), and falling into a deep sleep. The wicked Queen is a classic Psiren; she is jealous of the more beautiful woman, she lures Snow White into her death by various pretexts (the girdle, the apple, etc.), and she possesses a magical looking glass. The Rogue appears in two different forms: as the hunter (a very traditional Rogue occupation) who can't bring himself to murder the innocent princess, and as the seven dwarves, who are miners (another traditional Rogue occupations). The proper split between these two Rogues is only vaguely implied in the simpler versions; in some of the more complex versions the dwarves are obviously Avenger resonant as they chase down the evil Queen and avenge their beloved Snow White using their pick-axes (an Avenger's axe which is shaped like a Rogue's bow).  Both of these characters look on Snow White with adoration, but they are in the position of the Hapless Lover and are not worthy of being her one True Love. The Prince, obviously, is a Prince.

A Less Simple Example: Much Ado About Nothing

    Much Ado About Nothing is essentially a Shrew/Rogue romance. It has one major sub-plot (a Princess/Prince romance complicated by a Trickster), and several split characters. Benedick and Beatrice are the Rogue and the Shrew at the centre of the story; both are certain that they are never going to marry, they squabble constantly, Beatrice has a Shrew's typically sharp tongue, Benedick a Rogue's jocular dismissal of the married state. Beatrice is happy to play matchmaker for her cousin Hero (a Princess), a favour which Hero returns with the help of Ursula (a minor Shrew whose only role in the plot is match-making, and who has the traditional Shrewish occupation of "gentlewoman who waits on the Princess"). Leonato is the classic old King with a daughter to marry off; he is also somewhat responsible for Beatrice and plays his own part in inciting Benedick to acknowledge his love. The sub-plot centres around the romance of Hero and Claudio. Hero is a Princess, Claudio is one of the lower forms of the Prince -- a mere Suitor or Bridegroom -- with a higher Prince, Don Pedro, to help him in his quest. John the Bastard is a Trickster with Userperous tendencies, helped by a more classic, scruffy, rough-around the edges Trickster, Borachio. These two conspire, with the help of Margaret, to falsely implicate Hero in a scandalous affair. (Margaret is a slim character -- in the context of the plot she is a Nymph who brings about evil inadvertently by falling for Borachio's charms. Masked by her hair, she stands at the window and is mistaken for Hero by Claudio and Don Pedro.) Dogberry appears as a Rogue, in his aspect of Faithful Servant to the King, and reveals the plot against the hapless Princess. The King decides to pretend that Hero has died of grief, but of course she is actually happy and well. All is revealed and reconciled, and the story ends, first with the marriage of the Prince and Princess, and finally, with the marriage of the Shrew and the Rogue.

A Complicated Example: Barry Lyndon

    This is the story of one man's descent through the ranks of the Red Square male characters, until at last he is a defeated Usurper. It is a Red Square story, but with Green square resonances and a Yellow shadow plot. Redmond Barry begins his story innocently enough, as a Roguish rebuffed suitor who has fallen for a Whore resonant Nymph -- his cousin Nora Brady. She is the classic obliviously evil woman, she has casually given her charms to Barry, and he has fallen for them completely, but of course she is for sale to the highest bidder. The highest bidder, as it turns out, is a rich Usurper, Captain John Quin, who Barry (borrowing Avenger events) challenges to a duel. Nora's brothers intervene in the role of Tricksters and concoct a plot to make it look like Barry has successfully killed the Usurper, when in fact his gun is not even loaded. They convince our hero to flee for his life (again, borrowing from the Avenger as he goes into exile.) On the road, Barry is waylaid by yet another Trickster and has all of his money stolen. He becomes a soldier.
    He is not, however, a very good soldier -- already he has started to descend, and is heading into his Trickster phase. No longer able to borrow from the Avenger, Barry borrows from the Coward and flees from his first battle. Disguising himself in the clothing of an officer, he escapes from the army. He seduces a German woman (Adulteress, filling in the role of Shrew) who hides him for a couple of days before he abandons her. His disguise and his lies are not, however, sufficient to protect him; he is captured by the Prussians, and drafted into the Prussian army. Exposed to much greater suffering than in the English Army, Barry looks, for a moment, as though he might make good. If he was actually an Avenger, imprisoned and beaten, rather than a Red Square man hovering on the blade's-edge between Rogue and Trickster, his trials in the Prussian army might have been sufficient to redeem him. He regains his courage, acts heroically in battle, and is decorated. But then the war is over, and he once again plays the Cowardly turn-coat as he agrees to help the Prussian police investigate one of his fellow countrymen, the Chevalier de Balibari.
    The Chevalier is a true Trickster, a master at the trade of gambling, lying, cheating and deceiving. He takes Barry under his wing, and the young hero's fate is fixed: he is now in an apprenticeship to become a true Trickster, and his new Archetypal role allows him to fool his Prussian masters, ultimately escaping from them disguised as the Chevalier himself. Now that he is comfortably ensconced in his role as Trickster, Barry falls in love with Lady Lyndon (or rather, with Lady Lyndon's wealth). The Lady is yet another Whore resonant Nymph, only now, instead of being in a Nemesis relationship, Barry, as a Coward resonant Trickster, is perfectly positioned, as her Lover, for seduction. He wins her over and inadvertently succeeds in killing her Rightful Husband (a relatively low form of King), who dies of shock when Barry is insolent towards him. Barry's eyes are now firmly fixed on Usurpation; he marries Lady Lyndon, along with her estates and her money, and renames himself Barry Lyndon. But he does not have the official title that he craves -- the late Count Lyndon had a son, Bullingdon (a Prince in his guise of Rightful Heir), who is now Lord Lyndon. Whoring and feasting in traditional Usurperous style, Barry squanders his wife's fortune trying to Usurp a peerage for himself.
    Barry's Usurperous ambitions would, at this point, render him a wholly unsympathetic character, but this is not what Kubrick wants. A Yellow Square shadow sub-plot saves him: Barry becomes a Father, with a Golden Boy Disgraceful son who dies tragically as a result of disobedience. This strengthen's the viewers commitment to the now quite unsavoury hero, and it provides the emotional impetus for Lady Lyndon's descent into darkness.
   In the mean-time Bullingdon has been reduced, under Barry's tyranny, to a Rogue; he defies the Usurper's authority, and suffers various beatings and humiliations. At last he confronts Barry directly, defies him in public, and induces the tempermental Usurper to beat him in front of all of the people he is trying to impress. This effectively destroys Barry's hope of a peerage. Bullingdon, having triumphed as a Rogue, now rises to the level of Prince in Exile. He leaves, but will return.
    With his Kingdom in ruins, Barry squanders what remains. His Mother (playing the Prude resonant Psiren) comes to help her son out; she is horrible to Lady Lyndon, who by now has sunken completely in the traditional mournful despondency of the ill-fated Nymph. After some lovely images of the Nymph lying in her bath and staring off in moody contemplation of her own ruin, Lady Lyndon tries, and does not succeed, at suicide. At last Bullingdon returns and challenges Barry to a duel in order to regain his rightful inheritance. As is typical in Usurper perspective peices, Bullingdon, the Prince, appears to be a trifling milk-sop. In the duel Barry slips, slightly, towards redemption: instead of murdering the Rightful Heir, he deliberately misses. Bullingdon shoots Barry, who is then taken to a disreputable inn (a classic hide-out for Tricksters) where his leg is amputated. With his Usurperous goals finally thwarted, Barry's mother swoops him off back to Ireland, where it is suggested that he attempts, with relatively little success, to return to his Trickster's life as a gambler.

The Exercises:

1. Practice forming the square from the perspective of different characters. The easiest, and most fun, way to learn this is to get yourself a set of toys that look like the archetypes and play around making the squares, but you can do it with the names of the characters written out on peices of card if you prefer. Start by building the square from the perspective of the Prince and then transform it into a Usurper square, a Princess square, and a Rogue square. Once you've done these, you should have the hang of it and see how it works. If you don't, do the remaining three characters.

2. Choose an Archetype. Take a story that you are familiar with, either from one of our examples or one where you know the story well and are sure of your analysis. Add a shadow sub-plot to Lighten or Darken the main character.

3. For each of the Archetypes presented in this course, pick one of their symbols and try to discover as many different forms of it as you can by flipping boolean switches such as old/new, big/small, concrete/abstract, light/dark, ancient/modern, common/unique, masculine/feminine, or any other Yin-Yang type pair. The concrete/abstract switch is the most powerful and when used in combination with others will yield the most interesting varriants.

4. Find a work in one of the example lists that you are not familiar with. Obtain a copy and write an archetypal analysis such as the ones above (we recommend that you start with simple stories -- don't try to do War and Peace or Twin Peaks as your first analysis.) Or, better yet, find a work that isn't on our example list, do an analysis, write it up and send it in so that we can post it on the web-site.

5. Take a simple story and invent an alternative ending by adding additional characters to shift the tipping point.

6. For both of the Right Hand Heroic Archetypes in this course (Parts 2 & 4) choose an example character and create a story line about their decline and fall as they shift archetypes 3 times, first to the Sidekick position, then the Lietenant, and finally the Enemy.

7. Create the reverse (a redemption plot) using examples of the two Right Hand Vilainous Archetypes (Parts 6 & 8).

8. For each of the Archetypes presented, choose an example character with whom you are familiar and imagine them in each of the plots that are listed as common for their Archetype but do not occur in their own story.

9. Experiment with letting the Archetypes on this square borrow one another's symbols and observe how the symbols are transformed as they are passed between characters.

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