The characters in the story world deserve our full attention, as they are the active agents that drive the plot of a story. Whatever their role in a narrative, the characters give us a front row seat to all the action. They are the eyes and ears of the world of the story, and it is through their narration that we experience the world of the story. We love characters, whether we’re reading about them in a book or watching them on TV or in a movie.

The narrative role of characters

Most stories generally focus on the hero, so supporting characters such as the villain, princess, and helper function as an extension of the hero’s universe. The villain opposes the hero. The princess needs to be rescued. The helper provides much-needed help and support to the hero.

A brief review of the history of archetypal characters and their narrative functions

In any kind of story, the narrative consists of seven archetypal characters, as described by the Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp in his extensive study of Russian folk and fairy tales.

These are Propp’s conclusions:

1. The roles of the characters serve as stable and constant elements in a story, regardless of how and who fulfills them. They are the building blocks of a story.

2. The number of known fairy tale features is limited.

3. The sequence of functions is always identical.

4. All fairy tales are of the same type in terms of their structure. * The hero accepts a call to undertake a mission, experiences a conflict with a villain. The hero receives magical help along his journey, he meets some helpers who join the search for him and he comes across a princess who needs to be rescued.

* Propp in Turner 1988, p. 69.

Here are the seven archetypes identified by Propp:

The hero

the false hero

The donor (or supplier)

Assistants

The princess (or wanted person) (sometimes accompanied by her father)

The dispatcher (the person who sends the hero on his journey)

the villain

Analyzing archetypal characters

To analyze the archetypal characters above, I am going to use the entertainment medium of film-making to predominantly draw my examples. Of course, there are plenty of good examples in literature, but I think filmmaking has a greater potential for global story saturation. And most of us are familiar with movie references anyway. To identify Propp’s archetypal characters in a modern setting, I’m going to use the main cast of the Star Wars saga.

The hero – Luke Skywalker

The false hero – Darth Vader

The Giver – Obiwan Kenobi

The Helpers – Han Solo and Chewbacca/C3PO

The Princess – Princess Leia

The Dispatcher – R2D2

The Villain – Darth Vader

To demonstrate how to create a dynamic character profile, I’ll choose the fake hero and princess.

From the Star Wars franchise we have seen the character development of Darth Vader, from the conflicted and misguided ‘false hero’ Anakin Skywalker, to his evolution as a villain. When he was a little boy, he was innocent and sweet, and he had a tragic life, and we felt for him, and we looked forward to his bright future as an extraordinary lightsaber: the Jedi Knight. But alas, we were sorely mistaken, or at least some of us tried to be shocked and dismayed by Anakin’s descent into darkness, after the considerable gap between the original and the most recent. Star Wars films. But Anakin was the fake hero and it was his son, Luke, who would be the real hero.

What is your point of view here? Do you think it is possible to have two heroes in a narrative?

Another example of a fake hero can be drawn from the well-known classic story that has also made a billion dollar crossover to a movie franchise:The Lord of the rings. Who is the false hero in this narrative? I may not agree, but I think he is Gollum.

Before he became Gollum, the pathetic wretched, ring-obsessed creature, Smeagol was just a normal hobbit who had discovered a magical ring, not unlike Bilbo and Frodo. But once the ring consumed him with evil, he became a false hero and, in a way, a villain as well. Of course he could have been the hero of the story, like Frodo, but his choice relegated him to the role of the false hero.

Like the true hero, the false hero will have to go on a journey and make a decision. But he will falter in his journey, thus allowing the true hero to step forward. Sometimes the fake hero is used as a “red herring” or clever narrative device to disorient the reader or viewer and keep them in suspense.

The princess

The character of ‘princess’ is of great importance to me. During my time at university I submitted a thesis/creative project that explored the true purpose behind many fairy tales, in particular, the tales of the Brothers Grimm. My discovery was that many well-known fairy tales were originally designed as literary commentaries on sociopolitical issues at the time of their creation.

After reading many fairy tales, I discovered that the princess was traditionally predominantly depicted as a passive female character who finds herself trapped in a tower, poisoned by an evil witch, or the victim of a deadly curse. But in modern narratives, we see that many female characters, especially in film, are designed to defy traditional audience expectations of gender roles.

In books, movies, and video games, we now find female characters who don’t always depend on being rescued by a prince, and often dominate much of the action on screen. To think Charlie’s Angels Prayed kill bill Prayed tomb Raider.

Character profiles of the princess in traditional fairy tales.

the lady in distress

In this depiction, the hero sets out on his quest and encounters a maiden/princess in distress. He rescues her from an evil witch, who has either kept her captive in a tower or cast a spell that makes the hapless princess sleep with her for a hundred years.

the wanted princess

In many fairy tale depictions, a conflicted princess is also the instigator of the hero’s quest. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who could only be rescued from her trap by a young, rich and handsome prince. After many battles with an evil nemesis, they finally receive their “happily ever after” ending.

The rebellious and self-sacrificing princess

The magical world of Walt Disney has once again filled our imaginations with some groundbreaking examples of rebellious and self-sacrificing princesses. The mermaid in love, Ariel, who disobeys her father, King Triton, in The little Mermaid, which was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen. And also Princess Jasmine in Aladdin.

The bold and brave princess

In the French fairy tale ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the pure-hearted Belle sets out to rescue her father from a terrifying Beast who lives in a cursed castle. And, of course, we know the end of the story: Belle’s magical tears transform the Beast into her true self: a prince. A great example of an active fairy tale princess considering she was originally built in the 19th century.

The character profile of the princess in modern narratives

The princess in a romantic comedy

The princess in many Hollywood romantic comedies is usually the main love interest pursued by her admirer or a lovesick hero. There are challenges to her love, or the princess continually rejects the hero until she finally wins her over. Ultimately, they receive their happy ending.

The princess-heroine

The princess is a passive recipient of tragedy or injustice of some kind, but she rises to the challenge, either alone or by joining the hero, as a crime-fighting team. In this representation, the princess becomes a heroine. Think: Cinderella/Drew Barrymore on Forever or Batgirl/Alice Silverstone in batman and robin.

Radical changes in female characterization provide the archetypal princess with an opportunity to take control of the narrative and begin a quest to free herself from cultural and sociopolitical disempowerment, or nasty aliens who have acid for blood. A good example would be Ripley in the Alien film franchise, especially the first two films. Ripley was the last woman standing among all the well-trained and armed Marines, and she was transformed into a nearly indestructible fighting machine. She is considered a groundbreaking character for women in film.

The Hunger Games the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, has become an iconic symbol of bravery and courage for young women. She is a prime example of how one person can stand up to injustice and inspire others to do the same.

These modern story character profiles show the shift from traditional portrayals of the archetypal trapped princess to a dynamic, active character in the world of the story. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the prince-hero is powerless, but both the prince-hero and the princess-heroine play important roles in fictional storytelling.

However you choose to portray your characters, by learning the history of archetypal characterization and the roles of different characters, you can create a dynamic character profile that will engage your reader.

Happy writing!

Reference:

Turner, Graeme 1988 ‘Film Narrative’, Film as Social Practice, Routledge, London.