When you hear “stereotype of death” the phrase “malevolent and heartless” may quickly spring to mind, regardless of its accuracy. That’s a stereotype. And the thing you’re stereotyping is also, coincidentally, a stereotype.
Actually that’s a stereotype of an archetype; Death as it appears in fiction is an archetype.
I’m under the impression things work like this:
Archetypes are kind of like conventions or mathematical objects with specifications and meta-specifications, especially of types of characters. Stereotypes are the popular beliefs about a thing, whether or not they’re true.
Stereotypes of stereotypes would look something more like popular beliefs about popular beliefs. Stereotypes of archetypes are popular beliefs about the pieces of (esp. well-known) broad character type ontologies.
Actually that’s a stereotype of an archetype; Death as it appears in fiction is an archetype.
I’m under the impression things work like this:
Archetypes are kind of like conventions or mathematical objects with specifications and meta-specifications, especially of types of characters.
Stereotypes are the popular beliefs about a thing, whether or not they’re true.
Stereotypes of stereotypes would look something more like popular beliefs about popular beliefs.
Stereotypes of archetypes are popular beliefs about the pieces of (esp. well-known) broad character type ontologies.