Archetypes: Caregiver

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Sometimes, all we need is someone to give us unconditional love.

Cue the Caregiver, originally known as the Mother. This person will offer their heart openly and willingly, and extend whatever energies they can to help the hero succeed on their quest. Quick to forgive and encourage, the Caregiver offers characters weary from a long period of strain a welcome respite, in the form of companionship, health care, or emotional support. Sometimes, it is the presence of the Caregiver, or even the memory of that Caregiver, that keeps those that would otherwise fall from giving up. Because not all is bad in the world, and if nothing else, their love is a certainty.

"We'll be with you until the end, Harry."
“We’ll be with you until the end, Harry.”

As I have mentioned in prior posts in this series, this collection of posts deals with the archetypes first put forth by psychiatrist Carl Jung, and the use of these archetypes in fiction. Every post deals with the motivations, character profiles, and Shadows (or negatives) of each archetype. This week is the final of the Ego types: the Caregiver.

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THE TWELVE ARCHETYPES

 The Caregiver

Also known as the altruist, saint, helper, and parent, the Caretaker is the archetype that is energized and fulfilled by taking care of others.

The Caregiver is moved by compassion and a genuine desire to help others through generosity or dedicated assistance.

As a peaceful archetype, the Caregiver strives to keep harm away from himself and those he loves. He is motivated by goals that assist more than himself, and in fact is prone to martyrdom, due to his need to satisfy everyone else before seeing to his own needs.

Though the Caregiver’s intentions are often meant with the best of intentions, she can sometimes enable bad or weak behavior in those she cares for. Additionally, though selfishness is her greatest fear, either in others or herself, over-extending her energies into those that would take advantage of her generosity can lead the Caregiver to become bitter, often demanding acknowledgment of her “sacrifices”, and guilt-tripping those that aren’t quick to sing her praises.

EXAMPLES

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Not Harry Potter’s only caregiver, by far, but a character moved only by the needs of others (and especially animals), Hagrid is altruistic to a fault, adopting deadly animals and indulging the dangerous behavior of our three main protagonists. His nature ends up getting him in big trouble with the school when he underestimates Draco Malfoy’s intentions, and he nearly loses all he has worked hard to achieve because of it.
Though Gothel’s rearing of Rapunzel was for purely selfish purposes, it was a manic, possessive quality over Rapunzel herself that makes Gothel a perfect bastion of the Shadow Caregiver. It is less about caring for her charge than it is about validating herself, and leeching off Rapunzel.
Probably the most famous Caregiver of them all, Mary Poppins was the one that taught us all that a “spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”, and that even the most difficult of situations can be resolved if you go about it with an open heart.
It’s a strange, weird world around the Venture compound, and the only man with any sense of parental instincts is Dr. Orpheus, the often teased neighbor to Dean and Hank Venture. Protective, but also eager to fit in to a mentor-like role, Dr. Orpheus is a good balance between the good and bad elements of the Caregiver.
Marlin is the over-protective father who wants nothing more than to be reunited with his son. However, it was his overbearing parenting that drove his son away altogether.
There is a theme amongst the Caregiver archetype of a caregiver that is overbearing, overprotective, and far too sheltering with their charges. Part of this has to do with the potential lack of conflict otherwise, but also is a mechanism used to force naive and willful characters to the breaking point before starting out on their journey. In Ariel’s case, she comes to understand her father’s reasons later, and parent and sibling are able to resolve that conflict, and understand each other better as a result.
Miss Hanagan has slipped into the shadow side of the Caregiver archetype. Believing her work is done at food and clothing, she demands the girls thank her for having it as good as they do, and takes advantage of them any time she can, fully selfish and self-absorbed.
Though this stepmother is from Disney’s Cinderella, she encompasses all of the mothers who have shirked the burden of raising their children. The harm they do is immeasurable.
One of the most familiar martyrs of the Caregiver archetype, Charlotte dedicates all of her very short life to keeping her friend, Wilbur, from slaughter. She is never short with him, is altruistic, and generous, to very little personal reward. In the end, she dies, leaving behind a final web for Wilbur, and a nest of children who must go forth motherless.
There are far too many of these characters to mention here. Harry Potter’s mother, father, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, the Weasley Family, McGonagall, etc… All offer some sort of support and emotional stability when Harry needs it most, even though nearly all of them end up martyred for their effort.
A generous, kind Jedi, Obi Wan Kenobi is unassuming, taking on the task of raising and training young Anakin Skywalker after his master is killed. He is indulgent, allowing Anakin’s darker feelings to develop and mature to disastrous consequences, and often turns a blind eye to all of the warning signs the council of Jedi insist are there. In the end, though, he takes responsibility, and confronts Anakin after his transformation into Darth Vader.
Miss Minchin, of A Little Princess, is certain that her actions are for the good of all of the girls in her care. She is strict because she knows the world is harsh, and the chance of disappointment is high. She grooms her girls to accept these harsher realities, however, in the end, her dogmatic policies end up backfiring, and she loses her job, in ridicule.
Miss Honey, of Matilda, is a gentle, caring teacher who ends up saving her student by physically adopting her.

Recommended Reading:

Other Posts in this Series:

Archetypes-Innocent
Archetypes-everyperson
Archetypes-Hero
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32 thoughts on “Archetypes: Caregiver”

  1. This is fantastic, loved it!
    Ms honey, matilda was one of my favourite movies as a child along with A Little Princess!

    Such beautiful stories of imagination and belief 🙂

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    1. Those were my favorites too, along with The Secret Garden. 🙂 Love all of those tales of wonder and magic. Childhood personified.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Wow! Loved this post. I’m glad that you included the stepmother from Cinderella as a contrast between nurturing and cruel caregivers. Also, I have to say that I love Matilda, and Miss Honey is a true nurturer.

    Thanks for another inspiring post I this series. Cheers!

    Jeff

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I’m glad you liked the post, Jeff! This has been the first time I’ve had genuine fun in the crafting of the posts and gathering the research (little to no headache involved). It’s been fun teasing the file cabinets of my memory trying to come up with examples for each archetype. 🙂 And yeah, I simply had to include her. There’s no way I couldn’t!

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    1. People call me a Caregiver, too. 😉 In middle school, my nickname was Mother Teresa (I’d often share my candy from lunch with so many people I wouldn’t get any, haha). I’m really happy you enjoyed the post. I’ve been very entertained writing it!

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  4. I love Hagrid so very dearly! And the Weasleys, too! Because Harry had lost his parents at such a young age, the caregivers he came across had even more of an impact on me and tugged more at my heartstrings. I like it when the caregiver isn’t related by blood to the person getting cared for.

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    1. Yes, me too. I think for some stories, the caregiver NOT being related to the MC is critical. It shows that kindness doesn’t have to be related by blood. Thanks for the comment. I appreciate you stopping by!

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  6. I need to go back through and read the rest! What a well thought out post!

    And now, I must add a copy and pasted message from the A-Z team!

    Hi,

    I’m just stopping in to say from the AtoZ Challenge. Wondered if you’re still planning on Revealing your Theme on March 23? In case you need to find the Theme Reveal Badge, here’s the link.
    http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2015/02/the-great-and-powerful-to-z-theme.html
    Hope to see you on the 23rd!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Elizabeth! I am still participating (just scheduled the last of my posts last night, and my theme reveal). I got the banner put in and everything. Looking forward to the 23rd!

      Thanks for dropping by. 🙂

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  7. It’s so interesting that you add the vicious and unfeeling caregivers into the group as well. They’re a type that often get left out simply because they’re the antithesis of what we envision to be the norm. Thanks for the reminder.
    I’ve really enjoyed this series, Alex. And it certainly seems like you’ve had some fun creating it. Cheers

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well, the beauty of archetypes as that they all have Shadows as well. I like them more than tropes, as they’re fluid, and work whether the character is on the side of good or evil. 🙂 And yes, I’ve been enjoying making this series~ the format works really well since I already had all my headaches regarding graphics (made them for all 12 posts two months ago, haha). Thanks for the comment, as always, Shelley!

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    1. Yes, she’s definitely at her best when she learns to stand up for herself. I loved the dichotomy of Matilda and Miss Honey – both were teacher, and both were student. I think that was the biggest charm of the story.

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    1. Ooo~ how’s it going? Have you found any archetypes you haven’t written a character for yet? (There are a few coming up that I know I don’t have, and it’s helping me see how to get more variety in my cast.)

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      1. Some of them are easy — of course I have Caregivers. My central characters are proving more difficult, though. I have one I think is an Orphan, except her personality is almost opposite. I have no idea about my actual protagonist yet either!

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been loving your series on Vietnam. Beautiful country. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

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  15. Such a lovely mix of bright and dark caregivers – when I saw The Stepmother on this list, I was very startled. Miss Hannigen, too – such a memorable woman!

    Slightly startled to see zero Mama Bears on the list, unless one counts Molly Weasely.

    Also nice to see that some Nurturers are male.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Sylvia! 🙂 Yeah, there are so many caregivers it was too easy to make the examples section just go on forever and ever, haha. Molly Weasely is a great example, though. And yeah, when Jung created his archetypes, he was very clear in what was female and male, and which were primarily dominate. Given that it’s been so many decades since that time, I’m trying to make each of them as gender neutral as possible (So, “Mother” was changed to “Caregiver.”)

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