45 Master Characters (20 page)

Flaws:

• Depends on someone else for her survival and freedom.
  

• Needs attention and loves the spotlight.
  

• Has trouble committing to one relationship.
  

• May not understand the consequences of her actions.
  

• Walks around with rose-colored glasses as if nothing will happen to her.
  

• Keeps her opinions to herself to please others.
  

As a villain, the Maiden is the out-of-control teen obsessed with fun, parties, drugs, sex — everything in excess. Grades and rules don't matter because she doesn't care about the future.

She may commit a crime not understanding the consequences of her actions. She may be talked into sex to please a boy and get pregnant because of her ignorance of birth control. When these things happen she expects her parents or family members to pitch in and help her. In her eyes they better be there to pay for lawyers, watch the baby or whatever else she needs. She's never taken responsibility for her actions before, and she won't start taking them now.

She's passive/aggressive, saying she'll take control of her life but doing everything but. When family members and friends aren't there for her she'll do whatever it takes to get them to help her, even attempt suicide to get their attention. Everyone else's life must stop to deal with her antics. Anyone who cares about her will never get a decent night's sleep. Jaded, depressed and disillusioned with the world, the Troubled Teen often ends up in front of a judge, the courts forced to set her straight. Most of the time childhood abuse is what fuels her anger.

She has a pattern of irresponsible behavior that lacks morals and ethics. She shows a lack of responsibility for herself and uses superficial charm to manipulate others.

She is self-centered when it comes to her problems. “No one else matters but me” is her mantra. She believes she's special and above the law. She feels entitled to be around others she views as unique and special. She can be arrogant and lacks empathy toward others. She often fantasizes about how successful she'll become because she deserves it.

She feels like no one told her this world was so horrible and she didn't ask to be born. She wishes everyone would just leave her alone. She believes it's her body and she'll do whatever she wants with it. She doesn't have time to worry about tomorrow because it may never come. When she dies she wants to look back on a life full of friends and fun.

• Hates rules and all types of authority. She's antiestablishment.
  

• Is depressed, angry and selfish.
  

• Steals and fights.
  

• Has a death wish and takes a lot of risks.
  

• Is vulnerable to cults and resistance groups.
  

• Uses superficial charm to manipulate others.
  

• Is loyal to fellow criminals.
  

• Likes to hurt her family because they hurt her.
  

• Can't love or care for other living things.
  

• Has buried her true self.
  

• Feels entitled and special, above the law.
  

• Fantasizes about her own future success.
  

• Is irresponsible.
  

Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and
Angel

Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) in
I Love Lucy

Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano) in
Charmed

Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) in
Friends

Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) in
Clueless

Mary Jensen Matthews (Cameron Diaz) in
There's Something About Mary

Louise Dickinson (Geena Davis) in
Thelma & Louise

Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) in
Pulp Fiction

Sandra Dee (Olivia Newton-John) in
Grease

Jen Yu (Ziyi Zhang) in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Antigone

Guinevere in Arthurian Legend

Little Red Riding Hood

Princess in
Sleeping Beauty

Alice in
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll

Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum

Dolores “Lolita” Haze in
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov

Margaret in
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume

Juliet in
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare

Ophelia in
Hamlet
by William Shakespeare

Emma in
Emma
by Jane Austen

Daisy Miller in
Daisy Miller
by Henry James

Daisy Buchanan in
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Beloved in
Beloved
by Toni Morrison

Tess in
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy

Underneath the brilliant shining Sun, strides the god Apollo along the beach. He surveys the ocean, preferring to look at the horizon instead of examining what lies beneath the waves. His mind is always set on events in the far distance. He carries with him a bow and arrows, which allow him to attack from a comforting distance. He glides through the night watching over innocent young children and seeking out a challenger to polish his skill as an expert archer. His logical mind makes him the dispenser of justice, and his strong willpower allows him to accomplish any goal he sets for himself.

The Businessman is a man on the go who constantly thinks about his work. His strong logical mind makes him great at being a team player and a trustworthy employee but doesn't help him to be a great husband or father. He doesn't know how to let loose and play with the kids, so he often takes work home to avoid family life.

It's hard for him to go on vacation and have a good time with his family. Intimacy and sitting still for extended periods of time seem like a waste of time and effort to him. He'll often invite business associates and their families to come along on such vacations to kill two birds with one stone.

He understands the nature of cause and effect and lives his life accordingly. He can set goals and reach them where other men fail. His focus is rock solid; his actions clear and precise. He loves to plan and set high standards for himself and others, but he often falls short of his ultimate goals because he lacks the ruthlessness to reach them. He does well in a large corporation or on the faculty of a large college.

When the title character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story “Young Goodman Brown” encounters a chaotic world of sin in the forest, his Businessman reliance on order is put to the test.

What Does the Businessman Care About?

The Businessman cares about his career. He's able to plan his career path and focus on his goals. Every project he undertakes and every contact he makes is done so with the knowledge of how it'll further his career. He doesn't waste time or effort and can't understand other men who don't share his enthusiasm.

He enjoys being the calm and centered man in the room to settle arguments and bring about order and peace. He would make a great judge because he also prefers not to fight or to get physically involved in sticky situations.

Spock's logical thinking skills and calm demeanor are characteristics of the Businessman archetype.

He enjoys strategic planning and wants to be a part of a team.

Competition is fun to him, with either men or women. He respects others who are after the same promotion he is. They're planners just like him.

In
A Christmas Carol
, by Charles Dickens, Jacob Marley's ghost tries to warn Ebenezer Scrooge about his miserly insistence on rules and order. These are traits of the villainous side of the Businessman — the Traitor.

What Does the Businessman Fear?

He fears losing his career and having to get a job. He loves what he does for a living; it's his identity and whole reason for being.

His emotions and any type of intimacy are foreign to him. He may have several girlfriends at once because he fears getting too close to any of them. They have to understand and support his workaholic lifestyle.

Chaos is his enemy; he isn't equipped to handle anything spontaneous or random. He must know where things fit and why. He's always thinking logically and striving for order in his life just as he strives for it in his work.

Rejection isn't something he handles very well especially if it comes from a woman.