Votary Characters

Archetypal votaries are faithful officers in stratified organizations. They’ve been delegated formal powers and responsibilities, and they’re granted a degree of latitude in carrying out their duties. But ultimately, they answer to superiors. Votaries are expected to follow orders handed down from above.

Votaries take the rules and stated values of their respective institutions quite seriously. In most cases, a votary sees the core values as the institution’s reason for being, recognizing that principles do not propagate on their own merits or defend themselves in people’s minds or the fabric of society. Principles must be realized in the world through churches, government agencies, universities, and other such formal structures.

The votary archetype can be seen in school teachers serving under their respective principals, in police or military lieutenants who answer to their captains, and in corporate middle managers who carry out executive orders. Diligent votaries are often plagued by colleagues and superiors who are lazy, apathetic, cynical, or corrupt.

Prominent Examples

• Harry Callahan in Magnum Force (1973)
• Frank Serpico in Serpico (1973)
• Max Schumacher in Network (1976)
• Katsumoto in The Last Samurai (2003)
• Jim Gordon in Batman Begins (2006)
• Sister Aloysius in Doubt (2008)
• Barbara Howard in Abbot Elementary (2021–)
• Nanisca in The Woman King (2022)