45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters/Heroines

This is a summary of the Heroine archetypes from 45 Master Classes: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters (see footnote on the index page, Master Characters). You can also find the Hero archetypes on Master Character Heroes, and several additional types on Master Support Characters.

Also listed are the villainous versions of the Heroine archetypes; the book goes into detail on how each heroic archetype can become a villainous archetype.

Compare Romance Genre Heroines.

Quick Overview
The eight Heroine archetypes are as follows:


 * Aphrodite: The Seductive Muse
 * An expressive woman, full of life, who sees the simple solutions other people don't - but seeks intimacy and is strongly identified with sexuality, to the point where "this archetype has gotten a bad rap."
 * Artemis: The Amazon
 * A powerful, independent woman who loves competition, but also identifies with nature and feminism.
 * Athena: The Father's Daughter
 * Furthers her career by aligning herself with powerful men and trying to prove she's every bit as capable as the men around her; doesn't connect with other women, but loves to be in control.
 * Demeter: The Nurturer
 * A compassionate caregiver who sacrifices much in order to help others - particularly children or those she feels she is responsible for; her whole identity is tied up in caring for others.
 * Hera: The Matriarch
 * A strong, supportive, committed woman who sticks by her family no matter what, yet won't let others wrong her even if they're family; she's the shoulder everyone can lean on yet she wants to keep tabs on everyone too.
 * Hestia: The Mystic
 * A calm, gentle woman of simple tastes, who enjoys solitude and does not shy from basic household chores (a career doesn't much interest her); she needs to be creative and can be free-spirited, and she wants to do things for herself rather than be beholden to someone else.
 * Isis: The Female Messiah
 * A selfless woman who never sways from her life's mission, she doesn't take sides but acts as a detached observer, although she stands up for her own beliefs.
 * Persephone: The Maiden
 * A carefree, childlike woman who prefers to let others handle the details of life so she doesn't have to worry about it; she easily opens up and approaches people that others might shun, although sometimes this can harm her.

Their villainous versions are as follows:


 * Aphrodite: The Femme Fatale
 * A cold, apathetic woman who uses sex to get what she wants from men.
 * Artemis: The Gorgon
 * A vengeful woman who can easily go into a rage when she feels threatened.
 * Athena: The Backstabber
 * This woman would do anything to get to the top, even if it meant ruining the lives or careers of her family or friends.
 * Demeter: The Overcontrolling Mother
 * A woman who butts into her children's lives. Her need to be needed is taken to extremes; she might even kidnap her children if they tried to leave her.
 * Hera: The Scorned Woman
 * She doesn't take betrayal well and expects respect from all.
 * Hestia: The Betrayer
 * The Betrayer hides under an innocent shy mask. In reality, she is manipulative and only out for herself.
 * Isis: The Destroyer
 * A steadfast woman who never sways from her life's mission, but sees things in black and white; she is a firm believer in "the ends justify the means".
 * Persephone: The Troubled Teen
 * A selfish girl who likes to indulge herself in parties, drugs, and/or sex; should she get in a pinch she expects her family or friends to bail her out and clean up the mess she leaves behind.

Character Examples

 * Aphrodite: The Seductive Muse:
 * Xiao Qiao from Red Cliff and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. By distracting the enemy general with her charms, she delays a battle long enough for her side to gain an advantage.
 * The book cites Samantha from Sex and the City as an example.
 * Arguably, Rue from Princess Tutu
 * The titular character of D.W. Griffith's Judith of Bethulia
 * Rouge the Bat when she's a hero
 * All of the copies of Cylon Number Six, but especially "Chip!Six"/"Head!Six", who appears in Gaius Baltar's subconscious in a red dress and seduces him into doing things.
 * Rarity from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Artemis: The Amazon:
 * The book lists Joan of Arc as an example.
 * Xena: Warrior Princess
 * Possibly Tifa and Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII and definitely Faris from Final Fantasy V
 * San from Princess Mononoke, though at the beginning of the movie she is very much the villanous version of the archetype
 * Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena
 * Blaze the Cat from the Sonic the Hedgehog series
 * Oscar of Rose of Versailles
 * Kim Possible
 * Princess Daisy
 * Nausicaa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind qualifies, as she is a strong woman with a love and respect for nature.
 * The rebooted Battlestar Galactica's Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. To the point where her "twin" and partner-in-crime is Lee "Apollo" Adama.
 * Gretchen Richter in 1632. Despite being on the good guys side, her Knight Templar instincts make her almost a textbook example of the dark version of this as described in the book.
 * Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Arcee from Transformers Prime
 * Athena: The Father's Daughter:
 * Integra Fairbrooks Windgates Hellsing
 * Played straight in Gonzo, but not completely in the manga. Integra's not trying to prove anything to anyone there and connects rather well with Seras Victoria, looking up the Queen for orders if anyone. She's a mix of Persephone (when she was young), bit of Athena, Hera (her attitude towards her family and her role as leader of Hellsing certainly seems this way) and Demeter (towards Seras Victoria and the younger knight generation).
 * Naturally, Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and The Olympians
 * Konan from Naruto
 * Princess Ashe in Final Fantasy XII
 * Sharon "Athena" Agathon from Battlestar Galactica, who is the "good" Eight, joining the fleet and becoming a mother.
 * Kushana of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
 * Eboshi from Princess Mononoke, though she doesn't exactly align herself with men to gain power and definitely doesn't support patriarchy
 * Sally Acorn of SATAM and the Sonic the Hedgehog comics
 * Queen Elizabeth I
 * Mulan.
 * Ziva David in NCIS: Not literally as she does not get along with her biological father, though her mentor, Gibbs, is a Parental Substitute. She prefers to associate with men not so much romantically but as a fellow wolf in the pack and strives successfully to be as Badass as any of them.
 * Arguably she is an Artimis. Abbie is might be a better fit, though she is also very much a Persephone.
 * Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Irene and Shakuntala in Belisarius Series. The first is a great strategist and the second a Badass Princess. Shakuntala also has more then a few traces of Male Messiah though not a male.
 * Demeter: The Nurturer:
 * Generator (Jade Sinclair) at the Super-Hero School Whateley Academy in the Whateley Universe. She even sees her future life as a helper to her friend Tennyo, or as a superpowered baby sitter protecting the children of other superheroes (and her own children, if she ever becomes capable of having children).
 * It seems a lot of Final Fantasy heroines fit into the Demter archetype quite nicely. Examples include Yuna of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2,Aerith from Final Fantasy VII, Princess Lenna Tycoon of Final Fantasy V, and Rosa Farrell of Final Fantasy IV.
 * Vanilla the Rabbit and possibly Princess Elise of Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Princess Rosalina of Super Mario Galaxy
 * Fluttershy from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Hera: The Matriarch:
 * Akito of Fruits Basket
 * Jean Grey of X-Men
 * Applejack from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Hestia: The Mystic:
 * Anthy from Revolutionary Girl Utena, though she has touches of the Maiden archetype within her
 * Tikal of the Sonic the Hedgehog series
 * Isis: The Female Messiah:
 * Joan of Arc is listed as this by the book as well.
 * Lady Godiva is also listed as this in the book.
 * Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda could also qualify.
 * Nausicaa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is this archetype as well as an Amazon. She is willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good.
 * Terra Branford
 * Ahiru/Princess Tutu of Princess Tutu
 * Laura Roslin.
 * Princess Rosalina of Super Mario Galaxy
 * Iji, if pacifistic.
 * Delenn of Babylon 5
 * Princess Celestia from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Persephone: The Maiden:
 * Malon from The Legend of Zelda
 * Most Fairy Tale heroines
 * Princess Peach
 * Amy Rose from the Sonic series, who actually is a more developed version of this archetype since she has changed from a frequent victim into an independent Action Girl who can manage to hold her own against enemies.
 * Cream the Rabbit fits this as well.
 * Cosmo is another excellent example. Like Amy, she goes through major character development and undergoes a sort of life-death-rebirth transformation.
 * Garnet til Alexandros of Final Fantasy IX fits this archetype very well, as she struggles with standing on her own two feet without the help of her mother, Zidane, or anyone else.
 * Ahiru of Princess Tutu, though she isn't exactly "helpless"
 * Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic


 * Aphrodite: The Femme Fatale:
 * Cleopatra
 * Rouge the Bat from Sonic the Hedgehog, whenever she's a villain
 * Ultimecia from Final Fantasy VIII
 * Ishtar within The Epic of Giglamesh
 * Rue/Princess Kraehe of Princess Tutu starts out as this
 * Fujiko Mine
 * Queen Chrysalis from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Artemis: The Gorgon:
 * Shego of Kim Possible
 * San of Princess Mononoke at the beginning of the film; by the middle to end she has developed into the heroic version of Artemis- the Amazon
 * Airachnid from Transformers Prime
 * Athena: The Backstabber:
 * Lady Macbeth from Macbeth
 * Wave the Swallow from Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Demeter: The Overcontrolling Mother:
 * Nanny Ogg of Discworld
 * Hera: The Scorned Woman:
 * Medea of Greek mythology
 * Hestia: The Betrayer:
 * Anthy of Revolutionary Girl Utena could also be considered this as well as the heroic version of this archetype
 * Fiona Fox from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics.
 * Isis: The Destroyer:
 * Lady Yunalesca of Final Fantasy X
 * Miko Miyazaki from Order of the Stick
 * Iji becomes this if she is too violent.
 * Persephone: The Troubled Teen:
 * Kim Bauer from Twenty Four. She was once the namer of her own trope thanks to the trouble her antics caused.
 * Daisy and Myrtle of The Great Gatsby
 * Sara from the Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie fits a lot of the qualifications of this archetype, but she can't really be classified as evil or totally selfish. She's just a bit spoiled and careless, and does show concern for a few of the other characters in this OVA.

Comparing the Gender Roles
The Female and Male Messiahs
 * The book differentiates between the male and female versions of the Messiah by saying the male Messiah preaches the way of love, while the female messiah is the way love itself.

Greater Detail
I'll put in this section later.

Here list examples of stories or series that play one type off another, so we can see how they interact:

Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Blaze the Cat (an Amazon) learns about warmth and friendship from Sonic The Hedgehog (a Fool). His playful, easy-going nature melts her icy facade.
 * Amy Rose and Sonic The Hedgehog act very similarly due to their archetypes (the Maiden and the Fool, respectively) being male-female counterparts.
 * Princess Elise is a good example of the Nurturer archetype. Her concern for her country is powerful, as she is willing to give herself over to Eggman to protect them. Her entire identity seem to be her roles as a princess and as the seal of Iblis; she definitely has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders and is without time to think of herself. Upon meeting Sonic, who is of the Fool archetype, Elise is able to let go a bit and have fun. He teaches her the value of truly smiling and being free of worry. As Elise herself puts it, he makes her feel less like a princess on a pedestal and more like a person.

Princess Mononoke
 * San is gradually changed from a Gorgon (the villanous version of the Artemis archetype) into an Amazon (the heroic version) by the male Messiah Ashitaka, whose selflessness and love cause this transformation.

Princess Tutu
 * Maiden and Messiah Ahiru's ideals and actions affect the entire main cast. She manages to set in motion the character development of Rue, Fakir, and Mytho through everything she does to regain Mytho's heart and change fate.

The Legend of Zelda
 * Princess Zelda, a female Messiah, is often the motivator of Link, a male Messiah. While he carries out actions to bring change, Zelda is usually the driving force behind him.

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Princess Celestia, a female Messiah, almost never deals with world-threatning villains directly. She rather directs her student Twilight Sparkle, a Father's Daughter, into action such as in the pilot where Celestia tricks Twilight into leaving her isolated life and make friends who help her defeat Nightmare Moon.