The
wise old man (also called
sage or "
Senex") is an
archetype as described by
Carl Jung. It is also a classic
literary figure, and may be seen as a
stock character.
[1]This type of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a mentor. He may occasionally appear as an absent-minded professor, losing track of his surroundings because of his thoughts.
The wise old man is often seen to be in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, than those he advises. In extreme cases, he may be a liminal being, such as Merlin, who was only half human. In medieval chivalric romance and modern fantasy, he often appears as a wizard.[2] In the same works, he can also feature as a hermit, who often explained to the knights — particularly those searching for the Holy Grail — the significiance of their encounters.[3]
In storytelling, the character of the wise old man is commonly killed or in some other way removed for a time to allow the hero to develop on his/her own.
