->''It may seem redundant at first as strictly speaking an archetype is simply an example of something, in short every trope is a story archetype. However here we are using the term in reference to a concept in Jungian Psychology of the same name.''

An ArchetypalCharacter is a character who appears over and over in legends far and wide even in cultures that have shut themselves off from the world. The [[OurVampiresAreDifferent blood drinking risen dead]] are an {{Archetype}} as almost every culture has come up with their own legends independent of each other. ''{{Angel}}'' is an archetype: the tragic hero trying to overcome the evils of his past. [[TricksterArchetype Coyote]] is an archetype. Xena is an archetype. Gruff Grandpa is a StockCharacter. Any of these may be disguised as a SpaceAlien.

Some lit-theories classify archetypes by the role/purpose the character inhabits for the story. These classes are: ''Protagonist, Antagonist, Reason, Emotion, Sidekick, Skeptic, Guardian, and Contagonist.''

A related concept is the ectype, a distorted or flawed version of the archetype. For example, Batman is archetypical. He's a rich man who dedicates himself to anonymously fighting crime (protecting society) with a variety of gadgets. Many of the characters in {{Watchmen}} are ectypes off of this archetype. [[spoiler: Rorschach is an anonymous crimefighter, Nite Owl is a gadget-themed superhero, the Comedian upholds authority, and Ozymandias is a rich man acting to protect society.]]
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!!Tropes

* AnthropomorphicPersonification
* AntiHero
** IneffectualLoner
* BigFun
* BlindSeer
* TheChosenOne
* ClassicVillain
* TheDumbledore
* DumbMuscle
* FatherNeptune
* GentleGiant
* TheGrotesque
* {{Herald}}
* HeroicArchetype
* HeroicWannabe
* {{Higher Self}}
* KnightInShiningArmor
* LoveableRogue
* MentorArchetype
* MessianicArchetype
* MixedArchetypes
* ModernMajorGeneral
* MyGirlBackHome
* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* OedipusComplex
* PersonOfMassDestruction
* PowersThatBe
* PrinceCharming
* PrincessClassic
* RebelLeader
* RebelliousSpirit
* ReluctantMonster
* SeekerArchetype
* ShadowArchetype
* [[ShapeShifting Shapeshifter]]
* StarCrossedLovers
* TheKlutz
* TheOkona
* {{Threshold Guardians}}
* ThePatriarch
* TheStoryteller
* TurnCoat
* TricksterArchetype
* WickedStepmother
* WolfMan
* WorldsStrongestMan
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<<|{{Characters}}|>>
<<|NarrativeTropes|>>