Heroic Archetypes

Stories about heroes are deep and eternal. Joseph Campbell, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, identified both the archetype of the Hero and the quest that the hero follows, in many of the folk tales and myths of the world. This archetype, and it's journey was surprisingly invariant through many of the tales. Carol Pearson, in Awakening The Heroes Within expands the idea of the Hero into twelve distinct archetypes, each of which can follow the Hero Quest.
Quest: This is the hero quest which the archetype has set out on. The hero may not realise she is on such a quest until it is too late to retreat.
Fear: This is the fear which is usually the motivating factor for undergoing the quest (why else would the hero need to put herself at risk?) It is also the principal danger that lurks in the shadow of the archetype.
Dragon: In most quests the hero soon meets her dragon. This represents the major problem or obstacle of the quest -- the opposition that must be overcome in order for the quest to be successful.
Task: This is the task that the hero must accomplish in order to succeed at the quest. Succeeding at the task is usually sufficient to to overcome the dragon; however failure to do so can lead to becoming what the hero fears most -- his dark self, or shadow.
Virtue: Succeeding at the quest earns the hero these rewards of self. In addition to the hand of the princess, the castle, and the gold...