Archetypes

Abby and I were in the car alone this morning, with Lizzy at the Nest and she asked a question - I don't even remember what it was now - that launched us into discussion of archetypes. So with memories of TV Tropes and of The Riven Codex, I gave her a crash course. She already understands the concepts of protagonist and antagonist (thanks, Ms. M, our favorite 2nd grade teacher!) so we got to get a little more involved, using characters she already knows and matching them up with their archetypes as best we can.

The Hero: Luke Skywalker, Bilbo Baggins, Arthur, Harry Potter, and Dorothy Gale

The Mentor: Obi-Wan, Gandalf, Merlin, Dumbledore, and Oz & Glinda

The Villain: Darth Vader, Gollum (she has only seen/read The Hobbit, not the Lord of the Rings), Mad Madam Mym (she only knows the Disney Sword in the Stone), Voldemort, and the Wicked Witch of the West

The Companions to the Hero: Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2D2; all the Dwarves (again, only the Hobbit - no Fellowship of the Ring. Yet); we don't know who in the Arthurian legends (haven't gotten that far); Ron, Hermione, sometimes Neville and other Weasleys (haven't encountered Luna yet); the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion (and Toto).

I can't wait to read her my favorite childhood/adolescent fantasy novels. I guess we'd better finish Harry Potter post haste so I can do that. She's only watched the Harry Potter movies through Goblet of Fire; I don't want her encountering some of the more adult themes (sexuality, abuse, etc) in the later stories in the movies until we've read the books together. So we all win.