They are Romeo and Juliet. They are Antony and Cleopatra. They are Jack and Rose.
They are of both genders, but never of the same gender.
They can be both Hero and Victim.
The Lover’s story is tragic and romantic.
The Lovers are defined by their Beloveds.
Every lover is a Beloved.
The Beloved is similar to but distinct from the One True Love of the Heroic cycle.
The Lovers are both driven by and at the mercy of Fate.
Their moral universe is divided between their Beloved and all that stands between them and their Beloved.
Their love is pure and virtuous. There is a sexual component to the love but only in as much as it is an expression of love. Be that as it may, the erotic aspect can be charged and may take many forms.
The lovers will often die before they can consummate their love for one another.
They are young, naïve and optimistic.
Their love always takes the form of love at first sight.
If there is a Villain, the Villain’s goal is to keep the Lovers separate and to destroy their love. If there is no Villain, Fate will play this role.
A lover will either die in the arms of his beloved or at her side.
In the cases where one lover survives, it shall be the woman.
The Lovers are more prone to think about Heaven than God.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Unstructured Archetypes: The Lovers
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1 comment:
Actually, in Lackey's "Magic's Promise" (and sort of the next two) there are same sex lovers who go through a rather Romeo-and-Juliet like plot. (Not their families keeping them apart, but a disapproving society.) Vanyel survives his attempt at suicide and spends the next two books mourning his beloved and being a hero, practically a Mary Sue.
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