The Hero with a Thousand Faces
a theory for all the ages
Joseph Campbell’s
Hero Journey
The Monomyth
“It will always be the one, shapeshifting yet marvelously constant
story that we find, together with a
challengingly persistent suggestion
of more remaining to be
experienced than will ever be
known or told.”
(Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.)
DEPARTURE
(also known as Separation)
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The Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
The Crossing of the First Threshold
The Belly of the Whale
INITIATION
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The Road of Trials
The Meeting with the Goddess
Woman as Temptress
Atonement with the Father
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon
RETURN
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Refusal of the Return
The Magic Flight
Rescue from Without
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Master of the Two Worlds
Freedom to Live
The Call
= an invitation to adventure
• willingly or unwillingly
• “transformative crisis” or gradual
• something has been taken – the quest is to
find it; something is “missing” in life – the
quest is to find what is lacking; honor has
been sullied – it must be restored; something
is not permitted – rights must be restored
• Interesting note: the “herald” is often an
animal or stranger
"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi,
you’re my only hope.”
-- Princess Leia, A New Hope
Refusal of the Call
= a polite “no thanks”
• a vehement denial or a last moment of
hesitancy
• based on fears of the unknown or
societal/familial/cultural constraints
• may be manifested through a regret or desire
for normalcy
• can only result in stagnation, disintegration,
and death
"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for
adventures. Nasty uncomfortable things! Make
you late for dinner! I can't see what anybody sees
in them...Good morning!...we don't want any
adventures here, thank you! You might try over
The Hill or across The Water.“
- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Call to Adventure Links:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My
8Kwzbl10k
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO
HVSi65bPk
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkA
M0tRv5lM&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T
1tvyfcezI
Supernatural Aid
= helpers and mentors
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a protective figure offers advice
mentors are often little old men or old crones
helpers often become sidekicks on the quest
Aid is often presented in the form of a
talisman or divine gift (ring, sword, magical
helmet, map, etc.)
"I can guide you but you must
do exactly as I say.”
-- Morpheus, The Matrix
The Crossing of the
Threshold
= “jumping off point”
of the adventure
• passage must be earned
• threshold is often blocked by an adversarial
guardian who requires the hero to rethink
the plan
• threshold = the territory between the known
and the unknown
“You mean you'll put down your rock, and I'll
put down my sword and we'll try and kill each
other like civilized people?”
-- Wesley, The Princess Bride
The Belly of the Whale
= transit into a sphere of rebirth
• a symbol of the womb
• a form of self-annihilation
• a near-death (or death of the old ways/the
old self) and a resurrection
• sometimes called “Into the Abyss”
A few more film clips…
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35cLo7d07Xs
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSnPjiLEA2Y&feature
=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc5skIrEiVE&feature=
related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U3Oti2L8S4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js1clOdhNM8
The Road of Trials
(aka The Challenges, The Tests)
• tests may be physical or spiritual
• the trials become progressively more difficult
• the hero “discovers and assimilates his
opposite either by swallowing it or by being
swallowed” (Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces).
• trials often include: brother battle, dragon
battle, abduction/sea/night journey, ritual
death or dismemberment
The Meeting
with the Goddess
(a sacred or mystical marriage)
• a woman of mystical power who offers gifts/
aid/healing/nurturing
• woman represents “the totality of what can be
known” (Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces).
• sometimes a hero finds the person he can love
most deeply
• Sometimes a hero discovers feminine
intuition; a heroine finds male reason
• the union of opposites can take place entirely
within a person
The Temptress
= temptation as obstacle
• the meeting with a woman may be another
obstacle to overcome
• woman = a symbol of life, so recognizing the
woman as temptress = a revulsion of the flesh
or earthly self
Atonement with
the Father
(at-one-ment)
• often involves an encounter with the father
figure or recognition from a person of power
• the hero has taken the father’s place
• the “ogre” father is seen in a more realistic
light and therefore the world view shifts
• for the transformation to take place, a death
and rebirth must occur
Apotheosis
= becoming godlike
• a god-like state free of strife and obstacles
• a period of rest before the hero returns to
the “real world”
• the hero has moved beyond the pairs of
opposites: male/female, time/eternity,
enemy/friend, birth/death, yang/yin, etc.
The Ultimate Boon
the quest realized
• the hero meets the original goal; finds what
he was seeking all along
• sometimes leads to transcendence (especially
since the quest is often for an elixir of
immortality)
Refusal of the Return
You mean I have to go back?!?
• when the battles are won and the “elixir” is
in hand, sometimes the hero balks at having
to leave all the adventure behind and return
to the real world
• the refusal may be adamant or brief, obvious
or implied
• sometimes it is impossible to return to the
real world because it has been destroyed
The Magic Flight
= help/hindrance for the return
• sometimes the hero wins the elixir and
receives favor/power from the gods – in this
situation, the return trip is magically
shortened or made easier with gifts
• if the elixir is stolen rather than won,
powers may conspire against the hero to
prevent a successful return – in this case, the
return trip can be as arduous as the original
road of trials
Rescue from Without
A little help, please?
• if the hero refuses the return or if powers
conspire against a successful return, an
outside source may step in to assist
• resurrection is often linked to this step – a
literal visitation or a metaphorical “voice
from the past” may coincide with the return
Crossing the Return Threshold
Back to the grindstone…
• the hero must find a way to retain the
wisdom gained from the adventure and apply
it to everyday existence
• it’s often difficult to deliver the boon,
especially if it involves wisdom rather than a
physical gift – the hero must translate
“otherworld” experiences so that ordinary
people understand them
• synonymous to “reverse culture shock”
Master of Two Worlds
transcendental heroes
• the hero releases the “ordinary” self and
gives himself/herself over to destiny
• usually represented through transcendence
from human to god-form (Jesus/Buddah)
• for human heroes, it means that a balance
has been struck between the material and
spiritual worlds.
The Freedom to Live
“denouement”
• open plot points in the story resolve
themselves
• a reconciliation between consciousness and
universal will
• mastery of the quest removes a fear of death
which allows the hero “freedom to live”
• involves a realization that the journey is
never really over