Dynamic Duos

So I'm reading this book on Jung's take on symbolism. A lot of it covers his slightly suspect interpretation of dreams, but other bits are pleasantly interesting, if not eye-opening.
One chapter is devoted to popular archetypes in social culture - the hero, the mother, the trickster, the divine couple and the male and female animus. This chapter also includes a really interesting theory on hero pairs. The book claims that many primitive cultures have legends about hero pairs, and that most of these pairs share an important characteristic. One is usually an introvert and the other an extravert.
The extravert is the popular and public face of the duo, loud and brash, lapping up attention and often courting controversy. The introvert, on the other hand, maintains a solemn presence in the background but is usually the more potent element of the pair. The introvert is not as active as his partner, but when it is time for him to make his move he quickly reveals the extent of his powers.
Fables across various cultures have stories of similar twosomes; Achilles and Patroclus, Krishna and Arjuna, Gilgamesh and Enkidu are among the more popular. The attraction that the audience has towards these pairings, according to Jung, is that the observer has a bit of each characteristic within him; the externally motivated extravert and the internally motivated introvert, the id and the ego. That makes the duo appealing in a multi-dimensional manner to the observer, who can associate with and emulate each member of the pair.
I think that the hero pair archetype has survived pretty much intact into modern culture, not so much in the Don Quixote-Sancho Panza and the Holmes-Watson type relationships in literature, where one element completely overshadows the other, but certainly in rock and roll bands where the singer-guitarist relationship makes for a great study of partnerships.
Think about it; the prevailing rock groups of our generation have always been focused around a dynamic singer and a talented but publicity shy lead guitarist. The singer has always been an over-the-top extravert who is the public face of the group while the lead guitarist maintains a serious, almost mysterious presence off centre stage at shows, coming forward occasionally with a mind-bending solo but otherwise content to leave the singer in the limelight. Plant and Page, Axl and Slash, John and Paul, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (Ok, in that last case the only mysterious thing about Richards is the fact that he is still alive, but he is a classic introvert never the less).
There are, of course, similar examples in Hollywood. Think Thelma and Louise, The Blues Brothers, Midnight Cowboy and any number of cop-buddy movies that are based on the same personality combination. Always a cheery sociable one who makes you laugh and a complex brooding one who makes you think.
I wonder if the whole introvert-extrovert thing applies to married couples as well. While marrying someone at the diametrically opposite end of the psychological spectrum is usually a sure-fire recipe for marital disaster, it does create an exciting spectacle for the external observer as long as it lasts. Look at Charles and Diana. They were media darlings in those early years. The perpetually smiling princess who tried to put a friendly (and sexy) face on the house of Windsor as her more reserved, but much more influential husband looked on condescendingly.
When they broke up and Diana hooked up with the equally outgoing Dodi Al-Fayed they made great gossip but did not really capture the public attention until their exuberance unified them with that tunnel wall in Paris. Similarly Charles’ union with the equally retiring and intelligent Camilla did not make much news outside the regular subscribers of Horse and Hound magazine.
The same applies to the couples I know personally. The ones whose company I enjoy the most are not usually comprised of individuals whose company I would enjoy seperately. The perpetually stressed-out investment banker with the chirpy bubble-headed wife, the brooding social activist dating the hard-drinking golfaholic. I don't know how they can stand each other but when they're together I couldn't ask for better entertainment without having to pay for it.



On a side note, I don't mean to gloat or anything, but did anyone take a look at the cover of the latest Economist? It heralds the demise of cash money and I quote "cash, after millennia as one of mankind's most versatile and enduring technologies, looks set over the next 15 years or so finally to melt away into an electronic stream of ones and zeros". I am so cutting edge that I had better start carrying band-aids in my wallet.