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A Christmas Carol: The ghosts of Christmas
- Ghost of Christmas Past (Ego)
- Ghost of Christmas Present (Id)
- Ghost of Christmas Future (Superego)
A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Sunny (id): a baby, impulsive, likes to bite things
- Violet (ego): the oldest, practical, an inventor
- Klaus (superego): super intellectual, a reader
Animorphs When the group first meets the Ellimist they disagree about taking his offer to save some people and let the Yeerks have the rest.
- Marco is the Id, saying that it might be like the Noah's ark, but it would end up being more like a zoo.
- Ax is the Superego, who will go along with what the leader decides but doesn't trust the Ellimist.
- Cassie, oddly enough disagrees with everyone else and states the practical option of this being for the greater good.
- Anne (id): impulsive, imaginative, emotional.
- Matthew (ego): quiet, shy, loving.
- Marilla (superego): strict, stern, snarky.
- Kara (id): impulsive, selfish, preoccupied with material pleasure, easily swayed by 'cute guys'
- Emily (ego): down-to-earth, sensible, mediator between Adriane and Kara
- Adriane (superego): the least morally corruptable, deep-rooted sense of right and wrong, self-righteous
The Bartimaeus Trilogy, although only at the very end.
- Bartimaeus (id): the irrepressible, sarcastic and often lazy spirit of air and fire.
- Nathaniel (superego): the intellectual magician who, in general, disdains emotions (or tries to, anyway).
- Kitty (ego): a balance of impulsiveness and motivation, and, more importantly, very much the glue keeping the former two working together.
- Watson (Id) - passionate, restless, impulsive.
- Bernard (Ego) - inferiority-complex, philosophical, outcast.
- John (Superego) - emotional, intensely moral, righteous, conscientious.
- Dmitri (Id) - the elder brother is a womanizer, a drunkard and a hedonist.
- Alyosha (Ego) - the younger brother is a sweet, meek boy who wanted to become a monk and is the only member of the family who manages to keep a good relationship with the others.
- Ivan (Superego) - a cold, brilliant intellectual and atheist with much contempt for the rest of mankind.
- Jame (Id; Destruction) — the loose cannon, the shaker-up, the shatterer of rules and boundaries.
- Torisen (Ego; Creation) — the leader, the one whom men follow and admire, the seed.
- Kindrie (Superego; Preservation) — he ties them together, as the calming, healing influence.
- Cooper Rivers (Id) - Rocker girl, the rebel of the three
- Kate Morgan (Ego) - the "normal" of the three; frequently torn between what she wants and what others expect of her.
- Annie Crandall (Superego) - the brain of the three; approaches everything with cool, scientific logic
The Dark Tower had two:
- One is a fairly traditional Power Trio:
- Roland: Instinct. (Id)
- Cuthbert: Wit and cunning. (Superego)
- Alain: Intuition and mediation. (Ego)
- The other is a more explicit interpretation of the Freudian roles (and is actually a set of Split Personalities):
- Detta: Murderous. (Id)
- Odetta: Ethical, but unable to fight. (Superego)
- Susannah: Functional blend of the two. (Ego)
- The last book also brought us the Three Stephen Kings:
- Fumalo: Badmouthed, uninhibited (Id)
- Feemalo: Goodmouthed, Polite (Ego)
- Fimalo: Arbiter, Id shuts up when he talks (Superego)
- Grubbs (Id): Impulsive, often doesn't think before acting.
- Kernal (Superego): Wanted to give up fighting the Demonata and withdraw to keep at least some beings alive. Oh, and he had his * eyes* dug out by Grubbs.
- Bec (ego): Mediates between the other two members of the Kah-Gash. Especially at the end, where she negotiates with Lord Loss and brings about the end of both universes.
- The Witches of Lancre
- Granny Weatherwax (Superego; although she's described as having a big ego, she's definitely the most rational and chilly of the three.)
- Nanny Ogg (Id)
- Magrat Garlick (Ego, her role being specifically described as "running around getting the other two to make up after they'd had a row". A rare example of the ego definitely not being the leader.)
- Lt. Murphy: Dutiful Policewoman (superego).
- Harry Dresden: Somewhat rebelious, but never for the sake of rebeliousness alone (ego).
- Thomas Raith: Hedonistic, pleasure-seeking. Hell, he feeds off of emotions just to live (id).
- The times Harry's three-man team switches around, the other characters usually fill one of these slots (Michael Carpenter: superego, Kincaid: id, etc. If Sanya is brought into the mix, Harry is oftentimes shoved to the id, and Sanya becomes the ego.)
- Gard--concerned with battle and survival: Id
- Hendricks--philosopher, moralist: Superego
- Marcone: Ego
Ender's Game and its sequels have a power trio of the three major sentient species:
- Buggers: Highly organized, virtually no concept of the individual, communicate psychically faster than the speed of light, very technologically advanced, put the survival of their species first but don't seek to destroy other species. (Superego)
- Humans: Very high-tech, artistic, individualistic, but also prone to irrational decisions and chaos. Have a bad habit of nearly destroying other sentient species. Good overall, but can still be pretty dastardly. (Id)
- Pequeninos: Very low-tech compared to other species, tied to their traditions, have a much greater concept of the individual than buggers but still less than humans, generally open-minded. Tribes fight with each other, but outside of these battles, they try to avoid conflict. (Ego)
- One can group the three Wiggin children in the same way:
- Peter Wiggin: Borderline(?) psychopath, extremely ambitious, driven (id).
- Valentine Wiggin: Responsible, conscientious (superego).
- Andrew "Ender" Wiggin: Strikes a balance between the two (ego).
- Charlie: self-doubting, rational, and scientifically-minded, emotionally unfulfilled (Superego)
- Faye Lilliman: Overtly sexual, artistic, and whimsical (Id)
- Alice Kinnian: Compassionate, emotionally mature, educated, balances intellect and emotions (Ego)
The later books of The General series by S.M. Stirling and David Drake.
- The computer known as Center (Superego)
- The "ghost" of Raj Whitehall (Id)
- Their victim (i.e. the poor yutz barbarian they've roped into being the person who will bring civilization to his homeworld) gets to be "Ego" as he has to put together Raj's wise experience with war and humanity with Center's cold logic and near-infinite knowledge.
- Hermione: Intelligent, respectful to authority, has proper 'manners'. Her 'know it all' quality can get on the other characters nerves. (Superego)
- Harry: He has "a saving people thing" as Hermione says in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Id)
- Ron: Act as the 'middle' of the two when Harry wants to rush off to save somebody but Hermione wants them to take their time being as cautious as possible. (Ego)
- The three could also be seen as the embodiment of Body (Ron), Mind (Hermione), and Heart (Harry).
- It's also easy to see Harry as the Ego, since Ron seems to fit the traditional description of Id.
- Given the frequency with which Hermonie and Ron get into fights and Harry is caught between them, it seems more like Harry is Ego, Ron is Id and Hermione is Superego.
- Lampshaded in the sixth movie
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Professor Mc Gonagall: Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three? |
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- Also Lampshaded when the narrative refers to that "little voice" in Harry's head telling him what to do. It sounds just like Hermione...
- A Secondary trio is presented in Deathly Hallows during the main trio's absense from Hogwarts. Though they do not fit the bill as easily as the main three, they are:
- Neville: completely devoted to Dumbledore's Army and the La Résistance taking place at Hogwarts. (ego)
- Ginny: Brave and loyal, but a bit of a hot-head and impulsive. (id)
- Luna: Very smart and an idealist. (superego)
- The Marauders also fit this fairly well:
- Lupin: calm, studious, the most prone to common sense out of the three (superego)
- James: over-confident and mischievous, but less reckless than Sirius (ego)
- Sirius: the rebel of the group, doles out the harshest bullying to Snape and is driven to intense emotion (id)
- Some would argue that James is the "id" and Sirius is the "ego".
- The Four Hogwarts Houses also share this trope:
- Gryffindor: Brave, sociable and daring, mostly consists of heroes and outgoing students (id).
- Hufflepuff: Kind, hardworking with the friendliest folk among them. Slytherin: Cunning, opportunistic and ambitious with students who can take care of themselves (ego).
- Ravenclaw: Highly intelligent, competitive taking in only the wise and truly gifted students (superego).
- Voldemort and his most loyal of Death Eaters (excluding Severus Snape.):
- Bellatrix Lestrange: A Psychopathic Womanchild who enjoys her role a little too much for some to stomach. (Id)
- Lord Voldemort: Dark, sinister and murderous, but also very complex with relatable origins. (Ego)
- Lucius Malfoy: The snobbish, condescending Fop who gets thrown off his high horse frequently. (Superego)
Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy
- Ford Prefect - Reactionary, prone to acting first, planning later (if ever), wild and unpredictable (id)
- Dentarthurdent - Generally on an even keel, even when outlandish things happen he keeps (moderately) cool. (ego)
- Tricia Mc Millan - smart, idealistic, and usually the one drolly commenting on the situation. (Super-ego)
- Dave: The Straight Man (Ego)
- Amy: Moral center of the group (Superego)
- John: Batshit insane (Id)
- Alice: Witch-to-be teetering on the edge between good and evil. Is always willing to use the dark to accomplish her aims but does not wish to belong to it. (Id)
- Tom: The Spook's apprentice, always torn between his duty to his master and his friendship with Alice. He always wants to do what is right, but often isn't sure what that is. (Ego)
- The Spook. Former priest who has decades protecting the County from ghosts, witches and other monsters. He is always sure of what the right thing to do is, and tries not to let mercy or human emotion get in the way (Superego).
- Les Amis
- Courfeyrac (Id): The Center - warm, friendly, loves women and fashion
- Combeferre (Ego): The Guide - "Revolution, but Civilization"
- Enjolras (Superego): The Chief - the marble lover of liberty
- Alaska Young: Intelligent, but brash, impulsive, and arrogant; does what she feels like doing and doesn't care how it impacts anyone else until later. (Id)
- Miles "Pudge" Halter: Calm, kind, withdrawn, intelligent, and usually the most reasonable person of the three. (Superego)
- Chip "The Colonel" Martin: Short-tempered, but incredibly intelligent, meticulous, and well-spoken. (Ego)
- Ralph: Wants to get off the island but is practical about it (Ego)
- Piggy: Smartest and only one who remains logical throughout (Superego)
- Jack: Instinctual and acting on the most immediate need (Id)
- Frodo: Ego
- Sam: Superego
- Gollum: Id
Lord of the Rings, the Three Walkers
- Aragorn: Ego
- Legolas: Superego
- Gimli: Id (in the movie, anyway)
- That's also the way their respective races work; Humans are Ego, Elves are Superego, and Dwarves are Id.
Percy Jackson and The Olympians
- Percy: Id
- Annabeth: Superego
- Grover: Ego
Annabeth, Thalia, And Luke, before Grover found and took them to Camp Half-Blood, count as well
- Annabeth: Superego
- Luke: Id
- Thalia: Ego
- Basil Hallward: Superego
- Lord Henry: Id
- Dorian Gray: Ego
The Mystery Kids:
- Holly Adams: the most enthusiastic mystery fan and the best at deductive reasoning (Ego)
- Miranda Hunt: the impulsive one who loves bad jokes but has occasional inspirations (Id)
- Peter Hamilton: the technical expert with a love of gadgetry and a car numberplate collection (Superego)
Nancy Drew
- Nancy Drew (Ego)
- Bess Marvin (Id)
- George Fayne (Superego)
The Other Boleyn Girl keeps it all in the family:
- George Boleyn: Manages between Mary and Anne. Follows the family norms for the most part but also sometimes goes after his own desires. (Ego)
- Anne Boleyn: Passionate, prone to temper-tantrums, driven by her desires (Id)
- Mary Boleyn: For the most part, follows what society and her family expects of her. (Superego)
- The Sword of Shannara: Shea and the two criminals who captured him form one after they agree to team up.
- Shea Ohmsford: Nice Guy and the only one to have all the information about what is going on; the only one who can complete the mission and defeat the Big Bad (Ego)
- Panamon Creel: Flamboyant highwayman and professional criminal who makes friends at the drop of a hat, believes in living life to the fullets, and has a Hair-Trigger Temper that can be set off without warning (Id)
- Keltset: Calm, rational, messianic figure who doesn't let his emotions get the best of him. Mute. (Superego)
- Elfstones Of Shannara: The Dagda Mor and his Co-Dragons form a villainous one.
- The Reaper: A being forged of pure insticnt, created to be the ultimate predator. Killing is as insinctual to it as breathing; when it wants something it just keeps on coming until you or it is dead. (Id)
- The Changeling: Cautious and manipulative, using its Shapeshifting abilities to confuse and mislead; waits for the perfect opportunity to strike despite being more or less driven by spite. (Superego)
- The Dagda Mor: Repressed Chaotic Evil, he prefers to work through subordinates but isn't afraid to confront his opponents directly when the opportunity presents itself. A planner with the ability to be flexible. (Ego)
- The Heritage of Shannara: The trio tracking Par in Talismans form one.
- Morgan Leah. The Smart Guy, strategist and leader of the group. (Ego)
- Damson Rhee: The Heart, along because she's in love with Par, very emotional. (Id)
- Matty Roh: Kuudere, Broken Bird, and cool-headed in the extreme. (Superego)
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- Played with in the Baratheon Brothers:
- Robert Baratheon is devoted only to the physical pleasures of life; food, drink, sex and glorious battle! (Id)
- Stannis Baratheon is cold, rational and entirely devoted to upholding justice and the laws of the realm as they are. He often feels dishonoured by his brother Robert's impulsive actions in court, or his impulsive actions in general, such as having a casual sexual encounter on Stannis' wedding night, in Stannis' marital bed. (Superego)
- Renly Baratheon is more level-headed and down to earth, neither overly impulsive like Robert nor extremely strict like Stannis. However, he subverts part of the trope in that he offers no mediation between Robert and Stannis. In fact, he adds to it somewhat as Stannis percieves Robert as favouring Renly over him. (Ego)
- Played straight in the meeting in A Clash of Kings between Renly, Stannis and Catelyn Stark:
- Stannis demands that Renly submit to Stannis and accept Stannis as king due to Stannis, by law, having the superior claim by being the elder brother. (Superego)
- Renly demands that Stannis accept him as king, due to him seeing himself as fulfilling a more romantic ideal of king, basically. (Id)
- Catelyn Stark desperately tries to mediate between them and get them to come to a compromise and join together against their extremely powerful common enemy, the Lannisters. (Ego)
- Also, before the series even began, the triumvirate that overthrew the Targaryens:
- Robert Baratheon: Again, loud, boisterous, lecherous, gluttonous, etc. (Id)
- Eddard Stark: Honorable and self-controlled, even to a fault. (Superego)
- Jon Arryn: The real ringleader of the rebellion, and, as a foster father to both Robert and Eddard, the one who mediated between the two. Self-controlled, but also practical. (Ego; not surprisingly, things fell apart pretty quickly once he died.)
- Played with in the Baratheon Brothers:
- Mallory: Ready to fight, somewhat grumpy (Id)
- Jared: Both mischievous and level headed (Ego)
- Simon: Calm and pacifistic (Superego)
- Kind of a subversion, as he's a criminal genius, but "Slippery" Jim DiGriz is definitely the Superego.
- Angelina (no, not that Angelina) is the Id.
- James and Bolivar, their twin sons, are the Ego.
The three dragons in Age of Fire are practically cut out around this.
- Auron(Id) inclined to rash actions and going it alone. Advocates a "back to nature" philosophy.
- The Copper(Ego) A rational and calculating politician.
- Wistala(Superego) Moralistic, dislikes fighting (especially later on) and wants everyone to just get along. Often ends up being the mediator.
Star Knights
- Ego: Tad, a little frog who wants to become a Star Knight, and has the great jumping power.
- Id: Stello, a salamander who was the Star King, thinks negative, and becomes a fallen fauna.
- Superego: Astrid, a galaxy weaver, who becomes the Star Queen, and helps Tad and Stello.
Star Wars Expanded Universe: X-wing: Starfighters over Adumar
- On a mission to a world that at first seems to have the hat of pilot-worship, four of the New Republic's best pilots try to sort things out. This is possibly the funniest book in all of Star Wars.
- Id: Wes Janson, dubbed "the Darling One" by Adumarians. Loves making jokes, snarky observations, believed to have very little maturity. (Really he is mature when it counts, but he mouths off a lot.)
- Superego: Derek 'Hobbie' Klivian, "the Dour One". He's the group's cynic, though far from The Eeyore.
- Ego: Both Tycho Celchu, "the Doleful One" and Wedge Antilles, "the Dilligent One". They're both more inclined to leadership and somewhat more serious. Somewhat. Tych is given to occasional, devastating one-liners, and while Wedge is usually there to be appalled at jokes, after he gets laid and later gets back into his starfighter he briefly surpasses Wes.
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Wedge: "We have the right tools to subvert our Imperial admiral." |
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Star Wars Expanded Universe: Hand of Thrawn Duology
- Id: Flim, the con artist physically impersonating Thrawn; his ambition is mostly to survive and get paid. His grasp of strategy and tactics is negligible, and to keep up the deception he needs
- Superego: Major Tierce, strategist, feeding Flim tactics. A clone with a bit of Thrawn burning in his head
- Ego: Moff Disra, who set the triumvirate up in the first place, provider of supplies, handler of political fallout. Doesn't really get along with Tierce, but they need each other and are undeniably effective.
- The three main Force Allegiances of the Star Wars lore:
- Sith (Id): Force users who lean towards the Dark Side, for selfish and often evil purposes for example murder and domination. Sith are stereotyped as arrogant and back-stabbing, that'll sacrifice even their own apprentices, just to further their power.
- Jedi (Superego): Force users who lean towards the Light Side, to seek peace and logical ends. Many Jedi are studious and learn from their masters to hone their skills. Jedi are stereotyped as overly cautious, traditional and at time, skeptical of the intentions of others.
- Gray Jedi (Ego): A rare group of Force users who utilize both the Light and Dark Sides. Gray Jedi believe in absolute balance of the Force, that good and bad powers have their equal uses. Due to this unique understanding, both Jedi and Sith tend to distrust the Gray's. However, the Gray's can potentially be allied to either side, that is whoever leans to their goals the most?
- Tales of MU
- Steff: Impulsive, death-obsessed necromancer and self-proclaimed future villainess (id).
- Amaranth: The most moral; believes in love and peace and being closer to nature (superego).
- Mack: The protagonist; between the two above extremes (superego).
- Tends to vary somewhat: Mack occasionally drifts into Id territory with Ian often taking her place as Ego.
- The Three Musketeers
- Athos (ego)
- Aramis (superego)
- Porthos (id)
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
- Id: Ned Land (impulsive, violent, mostly concerned with food, hunting and escape)
- Superego: Conseil (imperturbably calm and reasonable, cares about nothing except his master's welfare and cataloguing wildlife)
- Ego: Professor Aronnax (mostly calm and scientific but also gets upset about being held prisoner; mediates between his comrades)
- The book is, anyway, one massive psychoanalysis: being captured and dragged down to the depths in a mysterious vessel, to encounter frightening alien-looking creatures and to descend into a maelstrom., etc. etc. etc. ...
- The main love "triangle"
- Hot-Blooded Jacob (Id)
- Bella: Mediator (Ego)
- Edward The Stoic (Superego)
- The Cullen guys:
- Emmett (Id)
- Jasper (Ego)
- Carlisle (Superego)
- The Volturi
- Caius (Id)
- Aro (Ego)
- Marcus (Superego)
Vampire of the Mists features a set in the residents of Castle Ravenloft:
- Jander Sunstar: the voice of reason, restraint, responsibility, and conscience (superego).
- Trina: impulsive, selfish, animalistic, and without conscience (id).
- Strahd von Zarovich: in charge, mediates between the two, listens to Jander's advice, while at the same time shares many of Trina's urges (ego).
Interestingly enough due to Character Development these change to
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz presents a neat inversion: the trio accompanying Dorothy are defined by what they lack. Double-subversion in that their perceived lack is actually their defining trait.
- Scarecrow (No brain - the anti-Spock), and really The Smart Guy
- Tin Man (No heart - the anti-McCoy) and really The Heart
- Cowardly Lion (No courage - the anti-Kirk) and proof of The So-Called Coward
- How perceptive! The idea of "lack" is central to the writings of Jacques Lacan, who developed Freud's ideas. So this must be the classic "Lacanian Power Trio".
- Original Series
- Firestar (Id)
- Graystripe (Ego)
- Sandstorm (Superego)
- The New Prophecy
- Brambleclaw and Stormfur (Ego)
- Squirrelflight and Crowfeather (Id)
- Leafpool,Feathertail,and Twanypelt (Superego)
- The Power of Three
- Lionblaze (Id)
- Jayfeather (Ego)
- Hollyleaf (Superego)
- Omen of the Stars
- Lionblaze (Id)
- Dovepaw (Ego)
- Jayfeather (Superego)
- Snow (Id)
- Danielle (Ego)
- Talia (Superego)
The Men in the Jungle
- Willem Vanderling (Id): Adapts to the endless brutality on Sangre quite easily, becoming a murderer and cannibal in a matter of weeks.
- Bart Fraden (Ego): Is willing to commit stupefyingly horrid war crimes for the sake of overthrowing the planet's corrupt elite (It Makes Sense in Context).
- Sophia O'Hara (Superego): Has the most conscience of any character in the novel (though that isn't saying much). Frequently questions Fraden's "leadership" and attempts to instruct him morally, despite ultimately being ineffectual.
- Steerforth (Id): Troublemaker, selfish, tries to influence David.
- David (Ego): Everyman type, kind enough, but goes one way or the other.
- Agnes (Superego): Selfless, loving, tries to lead David down the right path, is actually referred to as his "good angel".