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A stock character is a dramatic or literary character representing a type in a conventional manner and recurring in many works.[1] The following list labels some of these archetypes and stereotypes, providing distinctive examples.

Character Type Description Examples
A
Absent-minded professor An absent-minded scientific genius[2] Professor Calculus[citation needed], Emmett Brown[citation needed])
Angry black woman An assertive, opinionated, loud, and "sassy" African-American woman with a sharp tongue, often depicted as nagging and emasculating a male character[3] Sapphire in Amos 'n' Andy,[4] Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty,[5] Aunt Esther in Sanford and Son
B
Bad boy A roguish macho Charlie Harper[citation needed], Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause[citation needed]
Battle-axe A domineering, brash and brazen woman Xena[citation needed], Agnes Skinner[citation needed]
Black knight An evil fighter antagonist Darth Vader[citation needed], Mordred[citation needed]
Boy next door An average and nice guy George Gibbs in Our Town[citation needed]
Bug-eyed monster A staple evil alien[2] Formics[citation needed]
C
Cat lady An old woman overly concerned with her cats Arabella Figg[citation needed], Crazy Cat Lady
Contender A competitive underdog Rocky Balboa[citation needed], Terry Malloy[citation needed]
Crone A malicious old woman, often occult or witch-like Baba Yaga[citation needed], Wicked Witch of the West[citation needed], Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter (film series)[citation needed]
D
Damsel in distress A noble Lady in need of rescue, traditionally from dragons Princess Peach[citation needed], Princess Buttercup[citation needed], Princess and dragon[citation needed]
Dark Lady A dark, malicious or doomed woman Lady Macbeth[citation needed], Agatha Trunchbull[citation needed], Annie Wilkes [citation needed]
Dark Lord An evil, very powerful, often godlike or near-immortal sorcerer Crimson King, Ganondorf, Morgoth, Sauron, Voldemort, White Witch
E
Elderly martial arts master A wise, powerful man teaching his powerful craft to a young student, often needs to be avenged Keisuke Miyagi[citation needed], Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Pai Mei[citation needed]
Everyman An ordinary individual Everyman[citation needed]
F
Fall guy A scapegoat
Farmer's daughter A desirable and naive young woman, also described as being an "open-air type" and "public-spirited"[6][7]
Femme fatale A beautiful but mischievous and traitorous woman Ruth Wonderly[citation needed], Poison Ivy[citation needed]
Final girl A "last girl standing" in a horror film Laurie Strode[citation needed], Sally Hardesty[citation needed], Lila Crane[citation needed]
G
Gentleman thief A sophisticated and well-mannered thief Arsène Lupin[citation needed], A. J. Raffles[citation needed], Simon Templar [citation needed]
Girl next door An average girl with a wholesome conduct Winnie Cooper[citation needed], Betty Cooper[citation needed]
Grande dame French for "great lady"; a flamboyant woman, prone to extravagant and eccentric fashion; usually a stereotype of an elderly high society socialite[8][9][10][11] Constance in Gosford Park, Princess Dragomiroff in Murder on the Orient Express; Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest
H
Hag A wizened old woman, often a malicious witch witch in Hansel and Gretel[citation needed], Baba Yaga[citation needed]
Harlequin A clown or professional fool Till Eulenspiegel[citation needed]
Hooker with a heart of gold A prostitute with heart and intrinsic morality Nancy (Oliver Twist)[citation needed], Fantine[citation needed], Inara Serra[citation needed]
Hotshot A reckless character known for taking risks Martin Riggs[citation needed], Pete Mitchell (Top Gun)[citation needed]
I
Ingenue A young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome Ophelia[citation needed], Cosette[citation needed], Snow White[citation needed]
J
Jock (athlete) A male athlete who is often muscular, but not very smart Luke Ward[citation needed]
K
Knight-errant A noble Knight on a Quest Galahad[citation needed], Sir Gawain[citation needed], Percival[citation needed]
L
Little Green Men Little humanoid extraterrestrials with green skin and antennae on their heads;[12] known familiarly in science fiction fandom as LGM The Great Gazoo; Martians in Martians, Go Home
Loathly lady A woman who appears to be hideous, often cursed The Wife of Bath's Tale[citation needed]
Lovers Main characters who deeply and truly fall romantically in love, despite the blocking effect of other characters; often moonstruck, star-crossed lovers that are strongly fraternizing with the enemy Romeo & Juliet
Tony and Maria (West Side Story)
M
Mad scientist An insane or highly eccentric scientist, often villainous or amoral[2][13] Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, Rotwang, Davros
Magical Negro A black man with special insight or mystical powers coming to the aid of the white protagonist Bagger Vance, John Coffey in Green Mile, Dick Hallorann The Shining
Mammy archetype A rotund, homely, and matronly black woman Aunt Jemima, Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Aunt Chloe in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Louise in Forrest Gump, Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mammy Two Shoes in the Tom and Jerry series
Manic Pixie Dream Girl Usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish Garden State, (500) Days of Summer
Mary Sue A youthful but one-dimensional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, often considered a stand-in for the author Wesley Crusher, Bella Swan
Miles Gloriosus A boastful soldier from the comic theatre of ancient Rome Volstagg
Mother's boy A man who is excessively attached to his mother Private Frank Pike, Howard Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory, Eddie Kaspbrak in Stephen King's It
N
Nerd A socially-impaired, obsessive, or overly-intellectual person, often interested in doing well in school (academically and in terms of behavior) as well as reading books Martin Prince, Steve Urkel, Sheldon Cooper
Noble savage An idealized indigene or otherwise wild outsider with noble characteristics Chingachgook, Tarzan, Winnetou
O
Outlaw (stock character) A romanticized, often charismatic or social bandit Robin Hood, Billy the Kid, Man with No Name
P
Pantomime dame A pantomime portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag Widow Twankey
Petrushka A Russian kind of jester
Princesse lointaine A romantic love interest and beloved sweetheart and girlfriend for a Knight-errant Dulcinea
Professor A common generic name for fictional characters who fill the role of doctors, scientists, or mad scientists Emmett Brown, The Professor (Gilligan's Island)
R
Redshirt An expendable character who dies soon after being introduced; this refers to characters from the original Star Trek television series, often from the security or engineering departments of the starship, who wore the red variation of the Starfleet uniform and whose purpose in the narrative was to serve as cannon fodder Star Trek
Rightful king A usurped, just ruler whose return or triumph restores peace Aragorn, Aslan, King Arthur, Richard the Lionheart (in the Robin Hood mythos)
S
Senex iratus A father figure and comic archetype who belongs to the alazon or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility Pantalone in Commedia dell'arte; Frank Costanza (Seinfeld)
Shrew A woman given to violent, scolding, particularly nagging treatment Kate (The Taming of the Shrew), Lois (Malcolm in the Middle)
Sinnekins Pairs of devilish characters who exert their perfidious influence on the main character Flotsam and Jetsam, Hotep and Huy in The Prince of Egypt
Soubrette A character who is vain, girlish, mischievous, lighthearted, coquettish, and gossipy Susanna
Southern belle A young woman of the American Old South's upper class Blanche Dubois, Scarlett O'Hara, Blanche Maxwell in Mandingo (film), Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly in Django Unchained, Mistress Epps in 12 Years a Slave
Space Nazis Nazi-like antagonists in science fiction works Patterns of Force, Iron Sky, Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
Spear carrier A minor character who appears in several scenes, but mostly in the background Momo (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Superhero An unrealistically powerful hero dedicated to protecting the public[2] Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Avengers, X-Men
Übermensch[2] A (often only seemingly) perfect human being, especially the DC Comics character Superman Superman, Captain America
Supersoldier A soldier who operates beyond human limits or abilities Captain America; Soldier (1998 American film), Master Chief (Halo)
Supervillain Antithesis to the Superhero Lex Luthor, The Joker, Dr. Doom
Swashbuckler A joyful, noisy, and boastful renaissance era swordsman or pirate The Crimson Pirate, Dread Pirate Roberts, Zorro
T
Tomboy A girl with boyish and/or manly behavior Arya Stark, Juno MacGuff, George (Famous Five)
Tortured artist A character who is in constant torment due to frustrations with art and other people Brian Topp
Town drunk A male in a small town who is drunk more often than sober Barney Gumble, Haymitch Abernathy, Otis Campbell
Tragic hero A hero with a major flaw that leads to his or her eventual death and downfall Sigurd, Boromir, Orpheus, Anakin Skywalker
Tragic mulatto A mulatto who is sad or suicidal because he or she fails to fit in with white or black people Judy Kovacs in the episode Are You Now or Have You Ever Been in the television series Angel, Eliza, Cassy, and Emmeline in Uncle Tom's Cabin
V
Vice An allegorical evil part in medieval morality plays
Village idiot A person known locally for ignorance or stupidity; this character often turns out to be very brave and good, and sometimes, underestimated (see Wise fool) Neville Longbottom
Villain[2] An evil character in a story Snidely Whiplash, Fu Manchu, The Master, Lord Voldemort, Palpatine, Professor Moriarty
W
Whisky priest A priest or ordained minister who shows clear signs of moral weakness, while at the same time teaching a higher standard Father Callahan, Elmer Gantry, Samuel Parris
White hunter White big-game hunters in Africa Allan Quatermain
Wise fool A fool with an attribute of wisdom Shakespearean fool, such as in King Lear, Stańczyk
Wise old man An elderly character who provides wisdom to the protagonist Obi-Wan Kenobi, Albus Dumbledore, Yoda, Gandalf, Keisuke Miyagi
Y
Yokel An unsophisticated country person Rose Nylund, Cletus Spuckler
Youxia A Chinese type of the Knight-errant Li Mu-Bai, Fong Sai-yuk

See also

References

  1. ^ "Oxford English Dictionary". Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f John Clute, Peter Nicholls (1993), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Orbit, ISBN 1-85723-124-4
  3. ^ Kelley, Blair (25 September 2014). "Here's Some History Behind That 'Angry Black Woman' Riff the NY Times Tossed Around". The Root. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  4. ^ Naeemah Clark (November 10, 2013). "Find real African American women in a beauty salon, not on reality TV". Greensboro News & Record.
  5. ^ Kretsedemas, Philip (2010). "'But She's Not Black!'". Journal of African American Studies. 14 (2): 149–170. doi:10.1007/s12111-009-9116-3.
  6. ^ Wood, Robin (2006), Howard Hawks, Wayne State University Press, p. 30, ISBN 978-0-8143-3276-4
  7. ^ Marie-Luise Kohlke; Luisa Orza (22 October 2008). Negotiating sexual idioms: image, text, performance. Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-2491-5. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  8. ^ "In search of old, grand-dame style New England hotels | United States Forum | Fodor's Travel Talk Forums". Fodors.com. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  9. ^ "Where to Stay in London - Best Hotels & Travel Guide (Condé Nast Traveller)". Cntraveller.com. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  10. ^ Bean, Kitty (2007-11-30). "Grande-dame hotels unveiling fresh faces". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  11. ^ "Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel: The Grande Dame Walks Her Talk - Travel with a Purpose - Travel with a Purpose". Wanderlustandlipstick.com. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  12. ^ Peter Graham (22 May 1998), The Planet of the Zogs, Times Educational Supplement
  13. ^ De Camp, L. Sprague (1953), Science-fiction Handbook: The Writing of Imaginative Fiction, p. 28
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