I once heard that every story that will ever be told has already been told countless times before. While the specifics may change in keeping with the creativity of the storyteller, the same basic stories and characters that have resonated with us for generations continue to live on. One example of this is the concept of character archetypes. There are a number of archetypes (or classic types of characters) that are used over and over in stories.
One you might recognize is the archetype of the "mentor" character, like Gandalf from Tolkien's Middle Earth stories, Obi-Wan Kenobi from Lucas's Star Wars, or Rost from Guerrilla Games's Horizon: Zero Dawn video game (brownie points to those who know that one). Or perhaps the "god-man" archetype, embodied by characters like DC Comics' Superman, the Doctor from Doctor Who, or Marvel Comics' Thor.
And while I would love to (and perhaps may someday soon get to) get into these archetypes as well, you can probably learn all you need to know about these well-known archetypes in a quick google search or on YouTube. Today, I wanted to share my thoughts on an archetypal pairing that I have yet to see discussed: the Father-Daughter archetype.
As the name clearly suggests, the Father-Daughter archetype describes a pair of characters: one older male character fulfilling a mentor/father-figure role, and a younger female character in an apprentice/daughter role. While not required, usually the Father character is reluctant to teach the Daughter character, either out of being weary of the world, or perhaps doubting the Daughter character's capability. But the key is that both learn from each other by the end of the journey.
Now, this may sound similar to the Mentor-Hero archetype. But the two are different in some fundamental ways. Firstly, in a regular Mentor-Hero relationship, the two characters' interactions are typically devoid of any familial-like bonds. The Mentor is purely there to serve the Hero; giving advice, magical aid, or the like. In the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is kind to Frodo, but is mostly there to give words of wisdom or to guard him from the odd Balrog or two. In the Original Trilogy of Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi trains and gives advice to Luke, but I have met few people who would consider Luke and Obi-Wan's relationship anything akin to father-son.
Secondly, in a Mentor-Hero relationship, the Mentor typically has a flat-character arc; in other words, the Mentor has little or nothing to learn by the end of the journey. He has already achieved wisdom, and is merely there to pass on said wisdom to the Hero.
Not so in the Father-Daughter archetype. Consider the characters of Lee and Regan Abbot from the horror/family-drama film "A Quiet Place." A literal father and daughter who learn from each other by the end of the story. Lee learns to be open with his emotions to his daughter, and not solely be concerned with his duty of protecting them at the cost of their relationship. Regan learns to trust her father's judgement and accept that he truly loves her unconditionally. Unlike the Mentor-Hero archetype, both characters learn from each other - often in unexpected ways.
An important point to make is that this archetype is not interchangeable with the Father-Son archetype. With a Father-Son pairing, the Son character is often trying to live up to the example of the Father character, and the journey is complete when the Son achieves becoming like his Father in some way (not necessarily becoming identical, as part of the journey is usually the Son character becoming his own man, while incorporating the positive qualities of the Father character).
In the Father-Daughter archetype, the journey is complete when the daughter becomes a capable woman. This may seem obvious, but it is vitally important. Daughters and sons are different, especially as it pertains to how the Father character goes about teaching his young charge. With a Son character, the Father character can draw upon his own history and lessons learned in an almost one-to-one fashion. He knows what it was like trying to become a man. He knows the journey and the destination, and there is a degree of confidence in knowing the road map.
What makes the Father-Daughter archetype interesting, is that the Daughter character is going towards a destination that the Father character does not and cannot know. He is a little out of his depth in teaching the Daughter character how to be strong, and how to be a woman. This mirrors real Father-Daughter relationships. The mother is usually the one showing the daughter how to be a woman, but it is usually on the father to show the daughter how to be strong and confident in a man's world. The father knows the man's world, but he has to adapt what he knows and what he has learned to a woman's journey - which can often be a difficult journey to navigate for the father.
In literary terms, the disconnect between the genders is often represented metaphorically by giving the Daughter character a special ability that the Father character does not have - and often does not understand. Going back to "A Quiet Place," Regan - the daughter - is deaf, while the rest of the family is hearing. She has a struggle that the father does not have, and Lee is trying his best to build a hearing aid for her, something he doesn't need for himself. Furthermore, (SPOILERS) the hearing aid is eventually revealed to be the means to defeating the monsters, giving Regan an ability no one else has either. And while the father can guide her and show her the way on her journey, the daughter inevitably must finish her journey (to womanhood, if you will) on her own. This is mirrored in the movie in the fact that while Lee created the hearing aid for her, she alone must figure out how to use it against the monsters.
*Spoilers over*
Another example is the movie "Dredd". Now, first up, do not take this as a recommendation of the movie "Dredd". It is a tremendously R-rated movie that you should not watch until you are at least 21 years old. And even then, if you are the squeamish type, avoid it (lots of blood and gore). But the relationship between the two main characters is a perfect example of the Father-Daughter archetype, so it's useful for our purposes here.
Judge Dredd is an experienced cop in a future dystopia where cops are judge, jury, and executioner in a mega city overrun by crime to a ludicrous degree. One day, he is tasked with evaluating a young female cop named Cassandra Anderson. Officer Anderson is idealistic, not confident in her abilities, but also quite unique. In this sci-fi future, she is a mutant with psychic abilities that allow her to read the minds of criminals - an invaluable skill in both combat and interrogation.
As the story progresses, Dredd takes her through a crazy mission to take down a drug lord. Anderson starts out shaky and unsure of herself, but by the end, she is confident and tough enough to protect herself even when separated from her mentor. Furthermore, her own beliefs on who does and doesn't deserve swift judgement deepen, and even Dredd himself learns (from her) to extend a degree of mercy that he wouldn't even have considered at the beginning of the movie. So Anderson learns how to be a tough and capable cop from Dredd, and Dredd learns to be more merciful and look beyond the letter of the law from Anderson (even if it's just a little).
So, to summarize, here are the traits that the Father-Daughter archetype typically has:
- Older male (father) mentor teaches younger female (daughter) apprentice.
- Both characters learn from one another by the end of the story.
- The Daughter character has an ability or skill that the Father character does not.
- The Father character teaches the daughter the skills to survive in a man's world (or just a tougher world)
- The Daughter character teaches the Father character wisdom of a more feminine nature (or just a more emotional nature).
- The Father character guides, but the Daughter character reaches her journey's end on her own (either literally or figuratively).
As a writer, of course, you may bend the rules a bit and add your own variations, but these are characteristics that I've seen over and over again. Try remembering some Father-Daughter pairings in the stories you know. You might be surprised how many share these characteristics I've mentioned here.
The Father-Daughter archetype is one of the more interesting and fascinating ones to me, as it opens up so many options for character growth and interaction. And it's not used too often in stories, so it comes across refreshingly original when it does show up.
I hope you enjoyed the dissection of this particular character archetype. If you have any suggestions for other archetypes or story elements that you'd like me to go over, please suggest some in the comments below.
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