The Role Archetypes series is focused on presenting archetypal character roles in a way that focuses on their development throughout stories, with a particular eye to games (although most of the examples given will be taken from literature).

Today we're going to talk about the Hero, the first of ten roles we'll explore.

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The Hero is typically the protagonist of a story; they are the character who saves the day, but they also have deeper responsibilities within the story. Through a Hero, writers and audiences are able to get a moral perspective on the world. In particular, Heroes show right action, something which is not always possible with the other archetypal roles in the story: an Ally only reflects existing tradition, not discovery and independent righteous judgment, a Villain only shows wrong action.

It is the Hero who is responsible for uncovering the right way to live, the role of the individual (see Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning (affiliate link), which has a lengthy discussion of how the heroic individual is one of the foundational links between all humans).

As a result, they are typically the focal character: offsetting the heroic role on someone else usually leads to a confusing and misdirected story.

The Hero in Narrative

The Hero grows and develops over the course of a story, which is an important point to remember. While the Hero does not necessarily need to be part of a rags-to-riches tale, they will complete what is often called a Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey can loosely be broken into three steps: Initiation, Adventure, and Apotheosis.

This is, of course, a gross simplification. The Hero's Journey is usually broken into more steps: it is derived from Joseph Campbell's theory of the monomyth, which itself is often broken into more than twenty stages, and while individual interpetations of the Hero's Journey vary the breakdown typically involves somewhere around a dozen steps.

Initiation

At this point in the story, the Hero is confronted with a dramatic world-altering event, but they also realize their true nature. Typically the Hero is an outsider (but not necessarily an archetypal Outsider) in their own world, they have something special about them that makes them the only possible hero.

However, sometimes the Hero is just an ordinary person that gets the call to adventure. At this stage they are generally incomplete; they are not self-aware beyond the conscious level, and their unconscious issues get in the way of their life.

The Hero typically rejects the call to become a Hero until they are confronted by greater pressure, or have some revelation that causes them to go on their adventure.

The Underdog, whose great need forces the Hero into their adventure, and the Mentor, whose guidance instructs the hero, play pivotal roles in this step of the story. The Hero may be the Underdog as well, but they cannot fulfill the role of the Mentor in their own life (though they may have a spiritual or supernatural experience).

Adventure

The Hero is forced out of their world and must confront the dangers that await them. This forces them into conflict with their own weakness, whether it is simply being unprepared or moral or psychological weaknesses (what Jung terms the "shadow") which must be overcome before the Hero faces their greatest confrontation.

At this step the Hero will meet all the other characters who become important in the story; typically starting with at least one Ally who will provide them with assistance (like the Mentor, this Ally role cannot be played by the Hero), and must begin this process of self-improvement.

Once this is done they will face the greatest challenge, the Supreme Ordeal. The most important qualities of the Supreme Ordeal are that it cannot be accomplished by the Hero without them having grown to its level, and that it is often still too much of a match for the Hero. They may fail, or they may triumph, but in any case the Supreme Ordeal is typically followed by the first step in the Apotheosis.

Apotheosis

The final part of the Hero's Journey involves the Hero becoming divine in a metaphorical or literal sense. By overcoming their shadow, they have achieved wholeness as an individual that they would otherwise have lacked. This doesn't necessarily make them perfect, but it means that the challenges that they faced prior to the Supreme Ordeal have been put behind them; they are moot.

The Apotheosis follows what is often a heroic sacrifice, perhaps in a literal sense of life or death but sometimes in a figurative sense of risking career, social standing, or future potential. The Hero that survives is stronger and better than his predecessor, and may even be unrecognizable; in ancient myths deity heroes they often are referred to by different names before and after this step.

The fulfilled Hero returns home (again, literally or in a metaphorical sense by returning to the community of regular humanity), where they prove themselves worthy and change the world for the better.

Life by Example

The Hero exists as an example for the individual, and their role in stories is to present the right way to live. This doesn't mean that they have to be perfect (and, of course, writers and cultures impose their own moral judgments upon heroic figures), but the fundamental process of the Hero is growth and improvement, which is a necessity for individuals to function well in a practical sense.

As a result, stories need a Hero or an anti-hero: if they don't have a focus on one they lack a point. Even in stories where protagonists are amoral or even plainly evil, they will still experience growth. Deadpool is a great example of an "evil" hero, whose actions often cause wanton harm. Over the course of his Hero's Journey, he still learns to adopt a code of behavior that he believes will improve the world, even if this code involves violence and vulgarity (in the second of the recent film adaptations, Deadpool actually sacrifices himself to redeem an innocent who is falling to evil, something that is a patently heroic act).

Examples of the Hero

The Hero is usually clear in any given story, so I will give just two cursory examples of the traditional hero: Beowulf (from, well, Beowulf) and Frodo (from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga).

Beowulf is a very clear-cut hero; his life unfolds in three linked heroic sagas (killing, in order, Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon). Of particular note is the way that Beowulf has a different role in each part of his story: he proves himself and achieves apotheosis into a slayer of monsters by killing Grendel, again into a protector of the Danes and leader of his own people by slaying Grendel's mother, and again into a legendary king by his fatal confrontation with the dragon.

This triple saga bears an interesting witness to other archetypal themes (three is often a symbolic number), but is also important because it shows us the ways that a hero can be turned from an unproven figure into a proven one, a proven figure to a perfected one, and a proven figure into a legend at the cost of their own life.

Frodo, on the other hand, is given a task to destroy the One Ring, a source of evil in the universe. He succeeds through personal strength (he is largely able to resist the temptation of the Ring, though it causes trouble for him on the occasions that he cannot; in these he becomes an example of the sinful hero that creates more problems for himself. In the end, however, Frodo and his companions return home to the Shire and vanquish an evil that has taken root there in their absence.

Derivative Forms

It's worth noting that we can break the hero down into three forms if we use Jung's analytical model.

First, we have the alternating masculine and feminine heroes. These forms are worth noting in any study of myth and folklore, though they often carry over into more complex stories. Despite the fact that we describe them using traditionally gendered terms, this reflects the literary tradition rather than any particular requirement; the masculine and feminine roles have a particular role based on Jung's development of the concepts of anima and animus in the unconscious, and play different roles in their worlds.

The anti-hero is not included here because I consider it a manifestation of the Underdog, though it is worth noting that the flow of events in a hero's life is that a traditional hero can start weak or start mighty, but always ends mighty; a tragic hero starts mighty and ends weak, and an anti-hero is weak at all stages of the story.

Masculine Hero

The masculine hero represents a concept of Jungian analytical psychology: that of the boy who must prove himself by becoming a man. This is an endeavor that requires assistance, and often extrinsic motivation in the form of a princess to be rescued. The feminine anima is the undeveloped part of the masculine hero's unconsciousness; he does not need to be a Conan the Barbarian-esque muscle-bound figure, but he must learn to find his potential in the world.

We'll use the example of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: A New Hope to break this down.

The feminine anima within the masculine hero takes on stages represented by archetypal figures: Eve, Helen, Mary, and Sophia are the Jungian terms for these stages.

In the first stage, Eve, the woman is nothing more than an object of desire and attraction for the Hero. The Hero at this stage needs to figure out what he wants in life; Luke sees Princess Leia's call for help and finds her to be beautiful.

The second stage, Helen, represents the need for a man to prove himself worthy of the object of his affections. The Hero needs to achieve strength: this step is often reflected in a refusal of the Hero's Journey, as seen in Luke's initial refusal of Obi-Wan's offer to train him as a Jedi.

The third stage, Mary, represents the woman as transcending desire (e.g. as a mother, as opposed to a lover). The Hero needs to move beyond seeing the world through his own perspective alone, and away from thinking of it as a mere factory for wish fulfillment. When Luke agrees to help the Rebellion, he moves from being simply interested in Leia to being interested in the cause and purpose she represents.

The fourth stage, Sophia, occurs when the Hero has managed to fully move past the need for integrating purpose in their life. After Luke has defeated the Empire, he is celebrated as a Hero. This Sophia anima plays the role of guide in the universe as well; the Hero has not just knowledge and desire to do right, but also the wisdom to discern the consequences of their actions; he has unlocked the feminine potential to match the masculine power.

Feminine Hero

The feminine hero is often not recognized as such because of their altered role in the story; she is seen in the daughter of the traveling merchant who stumbles into the Beast's lair; her life may be "forfeit" because of the relationship she has entered into, but she also represents the potential for improvement in the universe, a chance for a new day and new life.

It is not for nothing that it is a princess who kisses a frog to turn him into a prince: much as the feminine anima represents potential for the masculine hero, the masculine animus that the feminine hero interacts with reflects the need for that potential.

In its first form, the man of mere physical power, the feminine hero encounters a being which needs to be transformed from bestial tendencies to civilized ones through the courtesy of acceptance into her company; muscular figures like Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian reflect this primal man.

In its second form, the man of action or romance, the masculine animus takes on a highly desirable appearance, but also must be channeled in a productive direction; the Romantic period is full of heroes like this (the Byronic hero), though it can also be a semi-complete masculine Hero, who is searching for the Helen anima, that appears in this stage.

The third form of the animus occurs in the form of the archetypal word: a man of knowledge and wit, but perhaps not wisdom. This figure must be refined in such a way that he becomes useful to the feminine hero, and, if her motives are pure, therefore the world as well.

The final form of the animus is the spiritual wise man; he has been perfected by the woman at such a point that he is now capable of providing guidance and fulfilling his true purpose. This allows the feminine hero to have the best of both worlds: the feminine representation of potential and the masculine representation of power.

Tragic Hero

The Tragic Hero grows and develops like the Hero, but they grow in a misguided, corrupted way. In this sense they start a story as a Hero who has already undergone an Apotheosis stage, but end worse than they were when the story began. Shakespeare's Othello and Shelley's Frankenstein are both examples of characters that take this path.

Othello, a great general, winds up overlooking one of his subordinates for promotion. Iago, the scorned lieutenant, convinces Othello that his wife is cheating on him: Othello winds up killing his wife in response to this provocation, despite her innocence.

Frankenstein, on the other hand, is a brilliant scientist who after a fixation on alchemy and mysticism learns science and uses it to create a monster assembled from parts taken from cadavers. This monster is perfect in mind and body, but hideous, and Frankenstein refuses to create a mate for it: at this point the monster turns on Frankenstein and drives him to destruction and madness.

Using Heroes

Heroes are the foundation of a story, so it is a little weird to think of using them as a literary device, but there are a few quick notes that can help a writer create a good hero.

1. Think of how the Hero needs to grow, and make this a central part of the story.
2. Remember that the Hero needs connections to the rest of the world; they will change, but it will remain static (at least in a metaphysical sense) until they get a chance to improve it; if they fail they're not a traditional Hero.
3. Many great Heroes are guilty of a "sin" that causes them to need to go beyond what their obligations would otherwise be; this provides an opportunity for moral instruction but also invests them in the conflict: part of the evil of the universe is their own creation.

A good example of this third point is Hercules; he is a demigod who is also one of the best warriors, but he winds up killing his own family because of Hera's curse and then winds up having to atone for it. This quest forms the foundation of the plot (it is worth noting that Hercules is a Hero-Underdog in a peculiar sense, since he is undergoing his struggles on account of his own transgressions).

Heroes in Games

Using Heroes in games is difficult, because it is very easy to create a protagonist who is not automatically a hero.

A character who grows and develops in a strictly mechanical sense is not a Hero; they must grow in discernment and judgment; perfecting a part of their personality that they were not ready to confront at the beginning of the journey.

Because many games have a focus on gameplay, rather than narrative, there are often issues that come as a result of padding causing a disruption between the presentation of meaningful story elements. When the audience fails to follow the plot, they simply ignore it.

Supergiant Games' Bastion and Transistor both have good examples of the Hero in their story.

Bastion's Hero (referred to just as "The Kid" most of the time) is a somewhat enigmatic figure; we know that they're part of some organization, but the world comes to a screeching halt right at the start of the story and the Kid is required to fix it.

This format works well, especially as a manifestation of the masculine hero. At the start of the story, the Kid needs to figure out what's going on, how to fix it, and whether he can fix it (the Initiation part of the triptych journey). Then he moves on to actually fixing it (the Adventure stage), and making decisions about what comes in the next world (the Apotheosis stage).

Transistor alternatively shows the feminine hero through its protagonist, Red. At the start of the journey, she needs to gather the power to fight and figure out what the purpose of that power is, but as the story develops she must see through deception and uncertainty to confirm the purpose she has set out to fulfill. The conclusion ends with her finding a way to use her power to change the world (the Apotheosis stage, more-or-less identical in function between the masculine and feminine hero because they reflect the complete individual rather than the conscious parts seeking to find meaning from the subconscious).

It is this final stage that is often lacking in games; EA's Mass Effect 3 was an example of a game that was part of an epic trilogy, but its ending was largely the same events portrayed through a series of alternately colored cinematics. The larger the game, and the more potential variables there are in it, the more difficult it is to reflect this Apotheosis. Fallout: New Vegas allows the player a lot of agency over the ending of the game, despite being a large open-world game.

The important thing to remember here is that stories need an ending that reflects the role of the protagonist. Spec Ops: The Line is an example of the protagonist being a Tragic Hero: the player experiences the events that draw them into the tragedy through the perspective of the naive and undone side of the protagonist's psyche, and the reality that was misunderstood by the protagonist is revealed to the player at the end of the game.

It is also worth noting that a good Hero often comes from humble beginnings; this is something that games with their mechanical progression often handle intuitively, and does not require further exploration.

Wrapping Up

The Hero is the most important character of any story, and their growth and development provides vicarious fulfillment for the reader.

Because of their role they are often the most human and well-developed of characters in a given story, not only because they are focused on the most but because they are the reflection of the individual becoming whole, a growing person's journey to become better than they were the day before.

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Recommended Further Reading

Man and His Symbols (affiliate link) is a great resource for understanding the Hero as an archetypal concept; Jung's take on depth psychology is intriguing and goes into detail at lengths of what the whole heroic process involves. Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (affiliate link) is perhaps a more full exploration of the Hero for the Hero's sake, but I'd personally read Jung first (as someone who read Campbell, then Jung, my self).

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