The Journey of The Hero

David Van Nuys, Ph.D. Sonoma State University

The Cycle

•  Departure •  Initiation •  Return

Departure - The Call to Adventure

•  Hero  ventures  from  every  day  world  into  unknown  

•  Herald  o4en  ugly,  loathsome,  terrifying,  or  a  beast  

•  Signifies  des;ny  has  called  hero  for  some  kind  of  death  &  rebirth  

Departure: Refusal of The Call

•  Refusal converts the adventure into its negative

•  Trapped by boredom, hard work, or “culture”

•  Subject loses power of affirmative action •  Life becomes meaningless •  e.g. Death of A Salesman

Departure: Supernatural Aid

•  Protective figure •  Often a little old crone or wise old man •  Think “Yoda” •  Represents benign protecting power of

destiny •  We follow the guide “to the peril of all our

rational ends”

Departure: Crossing of The First Threshold

•  Often a guardian at the threshold •  E.g. Temple Fu dogs or lions outside

public buildings •  Purpose to warn off those not ready for the

journey •  Protective though terrifying •  Guardian must be passed by if the

adventure is to continue

Departure: The Belly of The Whale

•  Worldwide womb image of being swallowed by a whale – Jonah – Pinnochio

•  The journey is down, into the darkness •  Represents death and rebirth •  In a kind of self-annihilation, the hero goes

inward to be born again

Initiation: The Road of Trials

•  After passing the threshold, hero must pass succession of trials –  Fairy tales –  Don Quixote –  Jack Kerouac: On The Road

•  World literature of miraculous tests and ordeals –  Hero aided by advice, amulets, helpers –  Supported by unseen powers: “The Force” –  Symbolically, the journey into the unconscious

Initiation: The Meeting with The Goddess

•  The ultimate adventure when the barriers and ogres have been overcome represented by….

•  “the mystical marriage of the triumphant hero-soul with the Queen Goddess of the world”

Initiation: Woman as Temptress

•  Dual aspect of woman: terrible and benign •  Good Mother/ Bad Mother images •  The virgin and the whore •  Represents projections of those parts the

hero has not accepted in himself

Initiation: Atonement with The Father

•  At-one-ment with the father (God) happens when the ego lets go of superego & id and dies to itself

•  The hero’s pride needs to be broken

Initiation: The Ultimate Boon

•  Boon = blessing, benefit, or gift •  Scaled to the stature of the hero •  Too often, hero wishes for something

material or trivial rather than perfect illumination

The Return •  Some;mes  hero  blisses  out  and  refuses  return  •  Challenge  of  The  Return  is  to  bring  back  the  boon  to  the  

world  •  Challenge  is  to  bring  the  contents  of  the  Ucs.    Or  spiritual  

insight  for  the  benefit  of  others  •  Rip  Van  Winkle  •  Ideally,  the  hero  returns  as  the  master  of  two  worlds  

–  The  inner  and  the  outer  –  The  spiritual  and  the  material  –  The  temporal  and  the  eternal  

•  Departure  –  The  Call  to  Adventure  –  Refusal  of  The  Call  –  Supernatural  Aid  –  Crossing  of  The  First  Threshold  –  Belly  of  The  Whale  

•  Ini;a;on  –  The  Road  of  Trials  –  The  Mee;ng  with  The  Goddess  –  Woman  as  Temptress  –  Atonement  with  The  Father  –  The  Ul;mate  Boon  

•  Return  

The End

The Beginning