This is K.M. Wyland and you are listening to the Helping Writers

Poohcast. I hope you enjoy this week's episode

Arctypal antagonists for the Maiden Arc, Authority and predator.

As the first transformational archetype within the life arc's cycle,

the maiden arc is the quintessential coming of age story. It is the to individuate into a fully autonomous and mature human being.

Like all the Arks, the maidens doesn't just happen.

Nor, for all her eagerness to turn 16 and get her first car, does she necessarily choose it?

Although humans can prepare themselves for transformation arcs, we don't get to initiate them for ourselves. The outer circumstances of our

social environment and our own chronological progression through life are major

factors in eventually creating the necessary forces to prompt a change

arc.

New circumstances can be viewed in many ways as the antagonistic force that defines both plot and theme in a life arc.

For the Maiden arc, this antagonistic force can be seen archetypily as the authority figures who initiate her

transition out of childhood into the beginnings of a hero arc.

But within her inner conflict and sometimes externalized into the outer

plot, we can see too that she also faces a frightening predator, aome guardian that seems to prevent her from passing through the gates of adulthood.

As mentioned in last week's introduction, there are actually multiple symbolic

antagonists that can be seen as important within archetypal character arcs.

Particularly, we can usually identify two.

One that represents the protagonist's outer conflict

and another that primarily symbolizes the inner conflict.

Which is which will largely depend on the unique

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