Val's Kinky Column: The Damsel Archetypes

Every story has the classic archetypes. You know what they are, they're the things that you see pop up time and time again in classic storytelling: the wise old man, the hard-boiled private eye, the femme fatale, the rogue with a heart of gold, etc

These archetypes also apply to the ladies in distress that we all know love, and much like in all of fiction, there are certain types of damsels that find themselves recurring over and over again. I've tried to compile all of the ones that I could think of here, but if you think of any that I've missed please let me know!

1. The Nosy Reporter

No doubt one of the most popular, and classic damsel archetypes. Some of the most famous damsels of all time fit this, from Lois Lane to April O'Neil and now Paula Peril. Often times, this lady will risk it all for a story, even if it means putting herself in peril. The reporter is usually headstrong and stubborn, and insists they can take care of themselves. There's an authority figure, usually male, sometimes but not always it can be the hero, who warns the Reporter not to pursue a story out of concern for her safety. Of course, the reporter won't listen and usually gets caught snooping by the bad guys, meaning the hero must come to her rescue. Many times after she's saved the hero or authority figure chides her for her recklessness, and sometimes we get a very hot variation of this where the hero leaves her bound and gagged while admonishing her for getting into trouble. 

2. The Sleuth

Somewhat similar to The Reporter. The Sleuth can sometimes be a teen, housewife, or private investigator. While not officially "law enforcement", they usually have a relation that is, either a love interest or a parent. The Sleuth will often be investigating the same case their relation is, but they always pursue a different lead that reveals the true culprit, which often leads to them getting captured. Since their Relation is unaware of the Sleuth's investigations, they often don't realize the Sleuth has been captured until too late. Many times the Sleuth finds herself captured when she discovers that the true villain was someone she trusted the whole time, or she'll get caught by the bad guys just as they're executing their plan. 

3. The Superheroine

Follows many of the same patterns as The Sleuth. The Superheroine often has a weakness that her enemies exploit in order to capture her. Sometimes the villains will catch the heroine just to keep her out of the way, and gloat at having her helpless, other times they'll place her in an elaborate death trap. A variation on this is the "caught in her secret identity" where the villains capture the heroine at her most vulnerable - her secret identity, either knowing or not knowing that it's her.

4. The Bad Girl

Many times, this damsel is the villain of the piece. They delight in manipulating and torturing the heroes, and have a sadistic, dominant nature. They often find themselves captured by the heroes and bound and gagged as revenge or humiliation for their evil deeds, or in some cases double-crossed by their own henchmen and tied up. This damsel often shows great frustration at their own helplessness because they relish being in control and seeing others helpless, but never themselves.

5. The Love Interest

There usually isn't much to this damsel beyond existing to motivate the hero into action. She's either kidnapped as a ransom, to use as leverage over the hero, or captured by the villain as revenge. Usually the climax revolves around the hero or heroes attempting to save her from some death trap or villain's clutches, leading to a romantic reunion once she's rescued.

6. The Official

Like the love interest, this one is more of a supporting damsel. It's usually a woman in power, a lawyer, or a judge or politician. This damsel is usually stern and no-nonsense, and stands in the way of what the villain wants. After exhausting every avenue to get the Official to bow to his whims, the villain resorts to kidnapping her in order to get his way or will hold her for ransom. Another variation of this is the judge or lawyer that sent the villain to prison, leading the villain to later kidnap them for revenge. Like the Love Interest, this damsel usually spurs the hero into action. 

7. The Cop

Like The Sleuth or The Official, but usually is a police detective or patrol officer. This damsel is used to trouble and can usually handle herself. She can get caught snooping, betrayed by someone she trusted, or more commonly, is taken hostage by a gang so they can make a safe getaway. There's always a male partner that's coming to her rescue or realizes that she's in trouble before she does.

That's all I have for now. Like many archetypes, these can be combined and mixed and matched to create all sorts of fun damsels, I know I definitely do in my own writing. What's your favorite archetype?