In my previous post, Teenage Archetype: Hero, I began my exploration of teenage archetypes to illustrate the geniuses of the genders as developed through the theology of the body. By untwisting the adolescent archetypal make-up of the “Hero,” I illustrated the masculine genius. Man’s genius is virtuously exercising valor, integrity and passion during the quest of giving the gift of himself out of love to his lady.
Now I intend to illustrate the feminine genius, receptivity, through an analysis of the adolescent archetype of Woman—that being the “Lady.” Again because of the emotional volatility of adolescence, extreme stereotypes are typically recognizable by society as normative behavior (exemplified by too many movies to mention). Each of the stereotypes, when “untwisted,” reveal a genuine quality of the archetype for each gender, in this case the feminine genius. These qualities give description to the genius of woman. Furthermore the stereotypes often “mature” into a particular profession that requires the dominance of certain genius qualities.
Lady—teenage archetype of the feminine genius
3 Stereotypes of the Lady = (1) Princess (2) Maid (3) Vixen
3 Qualities of the Lady = (1) Purity (2) Service (3) Passion
3 Professions of the Lady = (1) Actress (2) Teacher (3) Nurse
3 Goals of the Lady = (1) Beauty (2) Truth (3) Goodness
So when the archetypal teenage girl exercises the heroic qualities of purity and service, the girl is virtuously pursuing truth. This teenage girl is often on the edge of being both a “princess” and a “maid.” And this teenage girl might do well as a teacher. In other words, this kind of teenage girl would best display her feminine genius in the discipline of the sciences via education. However when there is an “excess” of qualities, or a “distortion” in this girl’s self-image—the virtuous teacher idolizes truth, in which her purity becomes vanity and her service is twisted into mandated accolades. Because of her receptivity becoming distorted, the teacher is no longer able to mentor through her natural capacity of nurturing. She often turns into some overbearing general who imagines she is serving her troops with excessive praises. Yet her praises for them are actually for herself.
So when the archetypal teenage girl exercises the heroic qualities of purity and passion, the girl is virtuously pursuing beauty. This teenage girl is often on the edge of being both a “princess” and a “vixen” who is struggling to relate beauty to her self-image. If she can keep her purity and passion in balance, then she can accept her inner beauty and in healthy ways care for the beauty of her body. This kind of teenage girl would best display her feminine genius in the fine arts, especially as an actress. If she can receive beauty authentically, then her pursuit of acting will be fulfilling but not overwhelming. On the other hand, if vanity begins to take over and her passion turns to over-indulgences, then her diva status will be quickly established but her happiness will be lost.
And so when the archetypal teenage girl exercises the heroic qualities of passion and service, the girl is virtuously pursuing goodness. This teenage girl is often pulled into extremes, one as a “maid” and the other as a “vixen.” If however she is capable of drawing strength from both her passion and her service, she might do well in displaying her genius through the profession of being a nurse. Her service to others in a physical nurturing way can often aid in keeping her passion directed outwards. When her actions are thus directed towards others, she can safely and genuinely receive the attention she needs. If however her vixen dominates, then her need for attention will override her ability to care outwardly for others. The good of her sexuality is easily distorted because of her natural tendency toward the physical and she will fall prey to the sexual advances of others, especially aggressive men.
This leads to the key element to the geniuses of both genders. How the Hero and the Lady engage in a relationship is often determined by their ability to virtuously exercise the qualities of their archetype. For example, if the Lady can receive the beckoning of her Hero with purity, service and passion, then she will experience happiness in the risk and exposure of receiving his love. And if the Hero offers the gift of himself out of love with valor, integrity and passion, then he will experience happiness in the risk and exposure of initiating love with her. In order for the Hero and Lady to love one another, they must mature beyond their teenage archetypes and become a communion of persons who seek to love forever.
As Pope John Paul II once said, “The person who does not decide to love forever will find it very difficult to really love for even one day.”
May we mature in our love from one day to eternity.
