45 Master Characters (35 page)

He can be a sharp dresser, especially if it means outdoing a man more powerful than him. If that man has a $1,200 suit then he'll buy a $2,000 suit.

He always comes off as being very confident and sometimes arrogant.

Captain Kidd is an example of a historical King archetype.

Developing the Character Arc

Look at your character's main goal in the story and then at the fears you've selected to use against him. What does he need to learn to help him overcome his fear? Does he need to learn to express his emotions and find his heart? The King is very much like the mob boss in
The Sopranos
who hides his feelings so much he gets anxiety and can't be an effective boss until he finds and expresses his pain. Does he need to let go of control and domination and let someone else lead? Does he need to face old age and competition from younger kings?

Very often the King needs to feel vulnerable to change. Something traumatic must happen to him or someone he's very close to so the wall he has built around his heart can break down. Sometimes he will literally have a heart attack.

What happened to him at an early age to make this archetype dominate his personality? Was his father weak or strong? Did his mother dominate him, making him feel like less of a man? Did the local bully beat him up until he fought back, almost killing the bully and therefore gaining power in school?

To grow, this archetype is best paired with one of the following:

The Artist —
can help him find and express his emotions and show him how to be open to love and creativity.

The Backstabber —
if the King loses a strong ally and friend his whole world may crumble, and he'd have to reevaluate his entire life.

The Amazon —
can show him that women can be great allies and friends. She can teach him that his feminine side doesn't have to be as weak as he thinks it is.

The Femme Fatale —
the King thinks he's in total control of women and would be completely devastated if a woman got the better of him. The Femme Fatale can be sneakier and therefore more powerful than he is.

Assets:

• Needs to have a family, group or company to rule over.
  

• Enjoys many activities and time away from his family.
  

• Is skilled at forming alliances.
  

• Spoils his friends and family with gifts.
  

• Is a great strategist.
  

• Can be very loyal and giving.
  

• Is very decisive and confident.
  

• Is the strongest man to lean on.
  

Flaws:

• Always needs to be in control of others; he loves to dominate.
  

• Feels entitled to a separate life outside of his family and marriage.
  

• Feels his wife should take care of all the day-to-day family issues so he won't be bothered.
  

• Enjoys instilling fear in others.
  

• Has trouble expressing emotions and sees them as weaknesses.
  

• Has trouble asking for help.
  

• Is very stoic and quiet.
  

As a villain the King becomes the Dictator. His need to rule and control others becomes an obsession. He wants more and more control and submission over his subordinates. He'll even go as far as to punish innocents in order to send out a message that he's powerful. He wants to be a demigod, to have control over the destinies and lives of others to do with as he pleases.

If anyone stands up to him the beast will rage forth causing major destruction to anyone and everyone. He'll justify his behavior as being the fault of the one who stood up to him. “Everyone should know better than to defy me” is his mantra.

He makes up laws just for the sake of wielding his power. He loves to see people going out of their way to abide by his laws. He doesn't know the consequences of his actions and he doesn't care. “If everyone would just behave then I wouldn't have to be so demanding” is what he tells people when, infact, nothing could ever satisfy him.

In
Moby Dick
, as Captain Ahab becomes more obsessed with finding the whale, he displays characteristics of the Dictator archetype: an obsessive need to rule and a disregard for consequences.

He has passive/aggressive tendencies as well, where he'll tell a family member that it's OK if they do something he disapproves of, but his actions show them just the opposite. He controls what goes on in his kingdom and if the people don't like it, that's too bad. No one leaves his domain, especially not with a smile. Betrayal is the worst type of offense as far as he's concerned, and he will seek justice.

In
Treasure Island
, the characteristics of the villain Long John Silver are similar to the traits of the Dictator archetype.

• Is obsessed by the need to control and rule others.
  

• Is passive-aggressive, allowing someone to make a mistake so he can punish them later.
  

• Can be a tyrant.
  

• Is a harsh wielder of justice.
  

• Creates meaningless laws just to wield power over people.
  

• Is extremely judgmental.
  

• Is frequently absent from his family's life.
  

• Instills fear in others by his name alone.
  

• Humiliates others and forces them to degrade themselves for mercy.