The Crone’s Antagonists: Practical and ThematicĬrone Arcs can be wildly fantastic adventures. But the true power and threat they represent is still something projected onto them from within the Crone herself. These antagonistic forces can, and probably will, be externalized as entities within the plot. Her experience of the forces of Death, Life, and Temptation are ultimately all within. This is because, ultimately, her journey is an internal one. The Crone Arc begins to become more symbolic and metaphoric than any of the previous arcs (unless of course you play it out “literally” in speculative fiction of some kind). Furthermore, she is inspired to begin bringing her story full circle by fostering new Life, via the young of her Kingdom who still desperately require her wisdom and initiatory powers. Her primary challenge is that of surrendering to her mortality-to Death-and in so doing resisting the temptation to wage war against Life out of her bitterness that it should be so. Having just completed her King Arc, in which she nobly sacrificed her temporal power and position (her “life” in its previous guise), she may now be struggling with feeling the best part of her life is over and that she might now perhaps just give in to the somnolent lure of a well-earned retirement. You may remember the Crone begins her story feeling rather played out. Throughout most of her story, the Crone’s antagonistic forces are represented more specifically as a Death Blight and as the subtle Tempter who would lure her away from the Truth. By the time the character is challenged to decide whether or not she will “fight” that greatest of enemies-Death itself-she will surprise herself with the realization that perhaps Death is no enemy at all.īut this is a realization for the Climax of a Crone Arc, when finally she is able to move into the “Liminal World” of the Mage. What begins as a decided “me versus them” viewpoint in the earlier arcs becomes increasingly more complex. Fundamentally, it is a story about a character coming to grips with the full magnitude of mortality.Īnd indeed Death itself is the primary archetypal antagonist within a Crone Arc-or at least seems to be.Īs noted in previous posts, the protagonist’s view of the archetypal antagonists evolves right along with her progression through the life arcs. ![]() As the fifth of six archetypal character arcs in the life cycle, the Crone Arc offers the first great challenge of a character’s Elder years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |