Angie,
Don't give up on Jung. I think you will discover a lot of answers about your archetypes. You may want to try Joseph Campbell as a primer before taking on Jung full ahead. The one book I believe will provide the best, and simplest, insights to the archetypes is Campbell's interviews with Bill Moyers in The Power of Myth. You can watch the videos
here.


Another important book from Campbell is Mythos {Mythos at Amazon.com} which was originally named Transformations of Myth Through Time. The Mythos video which is available is hosted by actress Susan Saradon.

In Mythos/Transformations Campbell explains the origins of the archetypes which are Bastion's universal symbols. This book is vital to the understanding of the evolution of the man, God and the psyche. Along with The Power of Myth it provided me the tools to understand Jung {which indeed can be difficult reading}.

Jerry