The Monomyth: Joseph Campbell The Hero's journey The Monomyth: Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell His work - A major study on The hero’s journey: The Hero with a Thousand Faces Think about the title Why would a hero have a thousand faces?

Joseph Campbell Traces the story of the hero’s journey through virtually all the mythologies in the world, revealing one archetypal hero in them all = the monomyth In both narrative and mythological writing, the monomyth, or the hero’s journey is the common template of a broad category of tales that involve a hero going on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed.

3 stages Departure Initiation Return

Departure An unexpected world is revealed, drawing the hero in The world may be revealed: Accidentally through mistake through something eye-catching A messenger appears, calling the hero to adventure The force to attend becomes so strong that the summons cannot be denied The hero seems to outgrow the old life; the time for moving on is at hand The Call to Adventure

Departure The hero tries to ignore the call and pursues other interests. By refusing the call, the hero makes the adventure seem negative. However, Life begins to feel meaningless. The hero digs deep to find secret reserves of courage, often in response to a predicament following the initial refusal. Ultimately, the hero goes forth willingly on the adventure. The Refusal of the call

Departure His Guide/Magical Helper Appear after the quest begins The hero encounters a figure who provides the adventurer with protective amulets against evil fairy lore = a little fellow of the wood, an old crone, some wizard, hermit, shepherd, or smith who appears to supply the amulets and advice the hero will require higher mythologies = great figure, a teacher, a ferryman, a conductor of souls to the underworld Each supernatural event represents the protecting power of destiny – reassurance that all will be OK in the end. Departure Supernatural Aid Marlin Meets Dory

The crossing of the first threshold Departure The hero crosses a threshold (figurative doorway) into the unknown, darkness, and danger. The regions of the unknown (woods, desert, jungle, deep sea, alien land, etc.) are filled with deceitful and dangerous presences not experienced in the normal world. The crossing of the threshold is the first step toward self-understanding, yet the action is tremendously risky – often life or death. The crossing of the first threshold

Departure Some time after crossing the threshold, the hero, instead of conquering of giving in, is swallowed, unknown, and would appear to have died. The passing of the threshold is a possible life sacrifice, making the hero a new person. After shedding fear of sacrifice, the hero is free to pass back and forth across the horizons of the world, traveling in and out of space and/or time. The Belly of the Whale Marlin Meets Crush

Initiation The hero moves through a landscape in which places and life forms are strange and unknown. The hero must survive a series of increasingly difficult tasks. The hero is assisted by the advice, amulets (good luck tokens), and secret agents of the supernatural helper. A chance is provided for the hero to purify the self and think about salvation. The hero must be willing to put aside pride, virtue, beauty, and/or life. The Road of Trials

Initiation: The Road of Trials Woman as Temptress The Meeting with the goddess Atonement with the father the Hero experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely the hero faces those temptations that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey the HERO must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving into this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power

Initiation The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step The final heroic task is usually accomplished with great ease, signifying the hero as a superior man – a born king. The boon can only be received by the hero after all personal limitations are gone. The ultimate Boon

Initiation it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return Apotheosis

Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon The return Refusal of the return The magic flight Rescue from without Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man. Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding, It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, oftentimes he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life

The return The Crossing of the return threshold Master of two worlds Freedom to live The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest to integrate that wisdom into a human life Possibly figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.