Introduction to the Nine Arcs
Catharsis doesn’t happen in isolation — it is the culmination of a process. For an audience to experience the emotional release that brings thematic meaning to life, the story must take them on a journey that builds toward it. This journey is shaped by the protagonist’s character arc.
Character arcs are defined by two key emotional layers: primary and secondary emotions, which drive the audience’s cathartic response. While tertiary emotions contribute to the overall experience, their role is mainly one of reinforcement and consolidation rather than shaping the arc itself.
The dynamics between these emotional layers give rise to nine distinct types of character arcs.
How Do We Arrive at Nine Character Arcs?
According to the framework used in this course, character arcs fall into three categories, each containing three types. This gives us nine character arcs in total.
The three categories are Conventional, Subverted, and Tragic.
The three types are Positive, Negative, and Flat.
The categories emerge from the way primary and secondary emotions interact, as we will see shortly. The Conventional category serves as the foundation, introducing the three basic arc types. The Subverted and Tragiccategories then reinterpret these same types in different ways, creating distinct variations.
As a result, each category contains its own version of the three arc types.
Conventional Character Arcs
- Conventional Positive Character Arc
- Conventional Negative Character Arc
- Conventional Flat Character Arc
Subverted Character Arcs
- Subverted Positive Character Arc
- Subverted Negative Character Arc
- Subverted Flat Character Arc
Tragic Character Arcs
- Tragic Positive Character Arc
- Tragic Negative Character Arc
- Tragic Flat Character Arc
Let’s now look at them in more detail.