As a writer, you want your characters (especially your protagonist) to resonate with your readers.
They should be larger than life but still believable.
And over centuries of storytelling, archetypal characters have played a larger role than others.
The Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Gustav Jung, having studied ancestral roots and the collective unconscious, defined 12 original archetypes.
More on that in a bit.
You’ll see the value of his research as you look through the character archetypes list below.
And you’ll see how the skillful use of archetypes is essential to creating unforgettable characters.