The Care Giver Archetype
This Follows on from: Characters on the Couch (Part 4). The first part can be found at: Characters on the Couch (Part 1).
“Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Care Givers are unselfish, ethical providers of protection who do things for others. They are compassionate saints and helpers. They are healers of the body, mind, spirit or society’s ills. They are peacemakers. Natural, holistic solutions are a common approach for them.
However, if they slip to the dark side, they become living Martyrs to their cause. They will employ guilt trapping to control others in order to achieve their goal. They may make sacrifices for the greater good without a thought for the suffering they inflict to achieve their goal.
Dr “Bones” McCoy in Star Trek is a classic care giver. Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of Gandhi is a care givers. Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro both play care givers in The Mission. Louise Fletcher is a shadow form of the archetype in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
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