Archetypes appear more clearly in people who exhibit one trait strongly.
I am inclined to study the people I work with. Most plot consultations take place over the phone, so I rely on overt comments and breath, perceived posture, expressions, and movements. For help on a deeper level, archetypes shed meaning.
Over and over she laments her uncertainty. She blurts out doubts in herself, her abilities, the actual presence of others. Why bother, she cries out? A writers' life demands more from us than we think we are. When called, if we fail to show up, we are haunted, hounded, and worried to death. The writer's eyes dart in opposite directions. They do not track like a paired event and it's difficult to follow her because I'm not exactly sure where she is physically.
However, I can track her perfectly on a archetypal level. Her worry over not being worthy fills her every cell. It drifts out of her pores and affects the rest of us. Her dance of self-doubt feels like it will go on into eternity. To see what each of us struggles with on such a concrete level allows us to better understand our own lives. And thus, our characters' lives.
Fear and doubt, insecurity that verges on the edge of self-destruction, we all have it. No matter if we succeed or fail, we are still hounded. We measure ourselves. How courageous are we? How much of ourselves do we commit? How do we keep going in the face of such doubt?
Either you don't. Or, you do...
