Mythic Constant Character

A Mythic Constant Character (also referred to as a Mythic Constant or Mythic Constant Hero) is an archetypal character who does not have a traditional arc. They are not fundamentally transformed in the course of events, embodying instead a timeless principle or unchanging force.

A Mythic Constant enters the story fully formed with fixed values, and their behavior is shaped by adherence to these constant values. Other characters may change, react, or collapse in response to them, but the Mythic Constant either endures unchanged or is destroyed by their lack of change.

This idea is informed by archetypal literary criticism (e.g. Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and others) and, at first glance, may sound similar to the concept of a flat-arc protagonist. as K. M. Weiland defines:

the flat arc is about a character who does not change. He already has the Truth figured out in the beginning of the story, and he uses that Truth to help him overcome various external tests.

So, yes, there is a similarity in that both characters have no arc and they both possess values or Truth but the main difference is one of function: the flat-arc character has a truth while the Mythic Constant Character embodies a more mythic principle or force.

A flat-arc character has values while a Mythic Constant Character is values.

Yet another interesting distinction between Mythic Constant Characters and more traditional characters is that with traditional characters we typically want to know more about them. We want to know their backstory, motivations, internal conflicts, and even delve into their psychology. But Mythic Constant Characters are almost pure symbol: the less we know about them the purer they function in the story as a symbol. In fact, excessive backstory or complexity can dilute the impact they have in embodying their timeless principle within the narrative. A Mythic Constant Character does not tell us who they are but, instead, reveal their nature.