Myth? Quite possibly - it's going to have to show staying power over the next few decades before I'd call it that, but it certainly is pervasively *popular*. I think that Rowling tapped into common issues in childhood and coming of age, definitely... but whether those issues are embodied in *specific* characters is unclear. I'm thinking not - one of the aspects of archetypes is that, for better or worse, they don't appreciably change. Every character in those books changes. Some, a lot. Voldemort might be the one who does the least. :)
And because of that, I doubt that any of the HP characters will move into the archetype realm. You might be able to say "Harry (Book 4)" as one archetype, and "Ron (Book 6)" as another, but because the characters grow so much, it's hard to pin down a set of psyche facets to any one character and make them stick. Heck, even Dumbledore, as seen through Harry's eyes, goes through quite the set of transitions.
So, myth? Yeah, I can buy that happening. Archetypes? No, I don't think that's going to happen, unless the very fabric of the stories, what makes them *special*, ie, the growth, is tossed. And that would gut the very insight out of them.
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Date: 2007-08-01 11:06 pm (UTC)And because of that, I doubt that any of the HP characters will move into the archetype realm. You might be able to say "Harry (Book 4)" as one archetype, and "Ron (Book 6)" as another, but because the characters grow so much, it's hard to pin down a set of psyche facets to any one character and make them stick. Heck, even Dumbledore, as seen through Harry's eyes, goes through quite the set of transitions.
So, myth? Yeah, I can buy that happening. Archetypes? No, I don't think that's going to happen, unless the very fabric of the stories, what makes them *special*, ie, the growth, is tossed. And that would gut the very insight out of them.