CHARACTER ARCHETYPES SERIES
The Shapeshifter Archetype
Creates doubts, suspicions, and uncertainty. And makes a twist in the story.
Before getting to the final part of the Hero’s Journey, we stop to describe two essential characters in the narrative. In the previous article, we talked about the Herald, and in this article of Character Archetypes Series, we talk about Shapeshifter.
This is a character who changes throughout the story. However, it does not change shape but function in the Hero’s Journey.
When we met the Shapeshifter, they seemed to be bad. Their role is to hinder the Hero in his path. Only toward the end of the story, the Shapeshifter reveals themself to be good.
They are also a figure who has worked behind the scenes to help without even letting the Hero themself know.
Similarly, the Shapeshifter can apparently be a friend. In the end, they turn out to be an enemy or someone ready to thwart the Hero.
The Shapeshifter archetype in the Hero’s Journey
Batman, in his story, had to face many villains. However, one of the most successful characters is Catwoman. She finds herself a superhero after falling out of a window and being rescued by some stray cats. She is very similar to Batman, a night vigilante but decides to join forces with Penguin, Batman’s arch-enemy.
However, Selina Kyle, Catwoman’s human part, begins a relationship with Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. With the narrative, Batman will discover who is behind Catwoman’s mask and that his beloved is an enemy to fight.
On the contrary, a famous example of a character initially thought to be the antagonist of Harry Potter is Severus Snape. In the last chapter of the narrative, we discover that he was protecting the young wizard on many occasions.
He always led him to the right path. He fell in love with Harry’s mother, Lily, so he always tried to protect the boy. And he does not ever let anyone know anything.
«After all this time?»
«Always» answered Snape.
Harry Potter
The function of the Shapeshifter
This character has the function of creating doubts, suspicions, and uncertainty. It also makes a twist in the story. This character is not to be confused with a liar. Even if they are aimed at a different purpose from what we thought, their actions are still real.
According to Campbell, it is related to the Hero’s soul and energy. It is a catalyst for change, changing behavior in the service of history.
The Shapeshifter has its own identity. They try to confuse the Hero during their Journey. However, this element makes the adventure more eventful and helps to strengthen the Hero’s determination. In conclusion, the Shapeshifter archetype is crucial for the story's success.
Conclusions
During the Hero’s Journey, the Shapeshifter could represent some uncertainties of the Hero’s ego. When they have grown up enough, they will be able to abandon this condition of dissatisfaction that led them to the beginning of their Journey.
In our lives, the Shapeshifter represents the moment we face our personality and everyday difficulties. We could identify these proofs as the Unknown World tests that our Hero and each of us on our Journey face before getting to the heart of the problem in the “Supreme Ordeal”, which we will discuss in the following article.
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