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Wise old man
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== Traits == This character is typically represented as a kind and wise elderly father figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that may in a mystical way impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a [[mentor]]. He may occasionally appear as an [[absent-minded professor]], seeming absent-minded due to a predilection for contemplative pursuits. The wise old man is often seen to be from a different culture, nation, or occasionally time, from those he advises. In extreme cases, he may be a [[liminal being]], such as [[Merlin]], who was only half human. In medieval chivalric [[Romance (heroic literature)|romance]] and modern [[fantasy literature]], he is often presented as a [[Magician (fantasy)|wizard]].<ref>Frye, p. 195.</ref> He can also or instead be featured as a [[hermit]]. This character type often explained to the [[Monomyth|knights or heroes]]—particularly those searching for the [[Holy Grail]]—the significance of their encounters.<ref>{{cite book |first=Penelope Reed |last=Doob |author-link=Penelope Reed Doob |title=The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages |url=https://archive.org/details/ideaoflabyrinthf0000doob |url-access=registration |location=[[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |via=[[Internet Archive]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ideaoflabyrinthf0000doob/page/179 179–181] |isbn=0-8014-8000-0 |year=1990}}</ref> In storytelling, a few times the character of the wise old man is in some way removed for a time in order to allow the hero/heroine to develop on his/her own.
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