According to the holy book of WikiWiki:

An archetype is a generic, idealized model of a person, object or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned or emulated. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality or behavior.

In the analysis of personality, the term archetype is often broadly used to refer to

1. a stereotype—personality type observed multiple times, especially an oversimplification of such a type; or
2. an epitome—personality type exemplified, especially the “greatest” such example.

In a strict linguistic sense, however, an archetype is merely a defining example of a personality type. The accepted use of archetype is to refer to a generic version of a personality type. In this sense “mother figure” can be considered an archetype and instances can be found in various female characters with distinct (non-generic) personalities.

Archetypes have been present in mythology and literature for hundreds of years. The use of archetypes to analyze personality was advanced by Carl Jung early in the 20th century. The value in using archetypal characters in fiction derives from the fact that a large group of people are able to unconsciously recognize the archetype, and thus the motivations, behind the character’s behavior.

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I hope nobody misses the sarcasm intended.

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