The Bad Batch Archetypes Analysis

Echo's Anima

This is the second part of the character analysis for Echo. I will be referring to "Goddesses in Everywoman" and "Gods in Everyman" by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Echo's anima consists of multiple archetypes, but the most prominent ones are Hestia and Persephone Queen of the Underworld. Hestia, or Vesta as the Romans called her, is the Goddess of the Hearth, or more specifically, of the fire burning on a round hearth. She is the least known of the Olympians because she never takes part in love affairs and wars throughout Greek mythology. However, she is greatly honoured and she receives the best offerings made by mortals.

Hestia's significance is found in rituals symbolized by fire. Her presence was required to turn a house into a home and to turn a temple into a holy place. Before the newly married couple could move into their new house, the bride's mother would light a torch at her own household fire and carried it to their house to light the couple's first household fire. When an infant reached five days old, it was carried around the hearth to welcome it as a new family member. Each Greek city-state had a common hearth with a sacred fire in the main hall, and every colony would take the sacred fire with them from their home city to light the fire of the new city. Hestia is the sacred fire that links the old home with the new, symbolizing continuity and relatedness, shared consciousness and common identity.

In Rome, Hestia was worshipped as the goddess Vesta, and her sacred fire united all the citizens of Rome into one family. The sacred fire in her temples was tended by the Vestal Virgins, who were required to take on the human representations of the virginal and anonymous goddess. If the fire was found to have extinguished, it was suspected that one of the Vestal Virgins had sexual relations with a man, and she would be buried alive as a punishment, which symbolizes Hestia's sacred flame being snuffed out when she no longer personified the goddess.

Hestia is the archetype of the Self and inner centeredness. She is "the still point" that gives meaning to an activity, the inner reference point that allows a person to be grounded in the midst of outer chaos, disorder, or ordinary, everyday bustle. Her inward-focused consciousness helps people to focus on their personal values, giving them a sense of intactness, wholeness and meaning in life, which in turn provides clarity in confusing times. Hestia is also present in a person who lives authentically, which means they are aware of their relationship with one or more activated archetypes. This prevents them from being "possessed" by an archetype or losing connection with an archetype.

Hestia can be found in the quiet solitude and sense of order that comes from doing an activity in which a person can attain inner peace. These activities involve housekeeping and religious services as Hestia is the hearth keeper and the temple hearth keeper. As the hearth keeper, a Hestia person finds housekeeping as a meaningful activity rather than a chore. Housekeeping becomes a form of meditation as they put themselves and the house in order, which makes them feel good inside when the task is finished. They can be totally absorbed in each task, unhurried in doing it and have the time to enjoy the resulting harmony. This makes Hestia paradoxically the most similar to Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty (the Aphrodite archetype is explained in my analysis of Wrecker's anima). As a temple hearth keeper, a Hestia person becomes involved in religious communities where they participate in daily spiritual activities and strive to be selfless. They also become engrossed in carrying out sacred rituals and ceremonies.

Echo gets the time and quiet solitude to cultivate his Hestia anima when he is stationed on the Rishi Outpost in "Rookies". He carries out his soldier duties but when he has free time, he goes on to read reg manuals. He is shown to have a quiet, self-sufficient quality, which is a Hestia trait. Besides finding time and space to cultivate Hestia, this archetype can also be found through unchosen solitude. Echo experiences unchosen solitude when he is being held against his will by the Techno Union. He feels lonely and lost, but he connects with his Hestia anima again as he takes this opportunity to gain access to the Techno Union's database, which is equivalent to him reading reg manuals in his quiet time.