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''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' ( 1949 ) is a non-fiction book, and Seminal work of Comparative Mythology by Joseph Campbell . In this publication, Campbell discusses his theory of the journey of the Archetypal Hero found in world Mythologies and religions. Since publication of ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'', Campbell's theory has been consciously applied by a wide variety of modern writers and artists. The best known is perhaps George Lucas , who has acknowledged a debt to Campbell regarding the stories of the '' Star Wars '' films. SUMMARY Campbell explores the theory that important myths from around the world that have survived for thousands of years all share a fundamental structure, which Campbell called the '' Monomyth ''. This fundamental structure contains a number of stages, which include (1) a ''call to adventure,'' which the hero has to accept or decline, (2) a ''road of trials,'' regarding which the hero succeeds or fails, (3) ''achieving the goal or "boon,"'' which often results in important self-knowledge, (4) a ''return to the ordinary world'', again as to which the hero can succeed or fail, and finally, (5) ''application of the boon'' in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world. In a well-known quote from the introduction to ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces,'' Campbell wrote: : The classic examples of the monomyth relied upon by Campbell and other scholars include the Buddha , Moses , and Christ stories, although Campbell cites many other classic myths from many cultures which rely upon this basic structure. While Campbell offers a discussion of the hero's journey by using the Freudian concepts popular in the 1940s and 1950s, the monomythic structure is not tied to these concepts. Similarly, Campbell uses a mixture of Jungian Archetype s, Unconscious forces, and Arnold Van Gennep 's structuring of Rites Of Passage rituals to provide some illumination.Since the late 1960s, with the introduction of Post-structuralism , theories such as the monomyth (to the extent they are based in Structuralism ) have lost ground in the academic world. However, this pattern of the hero's journey influences artists and intellectuals worldwide, suggesting a basic usefulness for Campbell's insights not tied to academic categories and mid-20th century forms of analysis. Fundamental structure of the monomyth In the monomyth, the hero starts in the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter an unusual world of strange powers and events. If the hero accepts the call to enter this strange world, the hero must face tasks and trials, and may have to face these trials alone, or may have assistance. At its most intense, the hero must survive a severe challenge, often with help earned along the journey. If the hero survives, the hero may achieve a great gift or "boon." The hero must then decide whether to return to the ordinary world with this boon. If the hero does decide to return, the hero often faces challenges on the return journey. If the hero is successful in returning, the boon or gift may be used to improve the world. The stories of Osiris , Prometheus , Moses , Buddha , and Christ , for example, follow this structure very closely. Campbell describes a number of stages or steps along this journey. Very few myths contain all of these stages — some myths contain many of the stages, while others contain only a few; some myths may have as a focus only one of the stages, while other myths may deal with the stages in a somewhat different order. These stages may be organized in a number of ways, including division into three sections: ''Departure'' (sometimes called ''Separation''), ''Initiation'' and ''Return''. "Departure" deals with the hero venturing forth on the quest; "Initiation" deals with the hero's various adventures along the way; and "Return" deals with the hero's return home with knowledge and powers acquired on the journey. CONTENTS Prologue: The Monomyth
PART ONE: The Adventure of the Hero Chapter I: Departure
The adventure begins with the hero receiving a call to action, such as a threat to the peace of the community, or the hero simply falls into or blunders into it. The call is often announced to the hero by another character who acts as a "herald". The herald, often represented as dark or terrifying and judged evil by the world, may call the character to adventure simply by the crisis of his appearance. In some stories, the hero initially refuses the call to adventure. When this happens, the hero may suffer somehow, and may eventually choose to answer, or may continue to decline the call. After the hero has accepted the call, he encounters a protective figure (often elderly) who provides special tools and advice for the adventure ahead, such as an amulet or a weapon. The hero must cross the threshold between the world he is familiar with and that which he is not. Often this involves facing a "threshold guardian", an entity that works to keep all within the protective confines of the world but must be encountered in order to enter the new zone of experience. The hero, rather than passing a threshold, passes into the new zone by means of rebirth. Appearing to have died by being swallowed or having their flesh scattered, the hero is transformed and becomes ready for the adventure ahead. Chapter II: Initiation Once past the threshold, the hero encounters a dream landscape of ambiguous and fluid forms. The hero is challenged to survive a succession of obstacles and, in so doing, amplifies his consciousness. The hero is helped covertly by the supernatural helper or may discover a benign power supporting him in his passage. The ultimate trial is often represented as a marriage between the hero and a queenlike, or mother-like figure. This represents the hero's mastery of life (represented by the feminine) as well as the totality of what can be known. When the hero is female, this becomes a male figure. His awareness expanded, the hero may fixate on the disunity between truth and his subjective outlook, inherently tainted by the flesh. This is often represented with revulsion or rejection of a female figure. The hero reconciles the tyrant and merciful aspects of the father-like authority figure to understand himself as well as this figure. The hero's ego is disintegrated in a breakthrough expansion of consciousness. Quite frequently the hero's idea of reality is changed; the hero may find an ability to do new things or to see a larger point of view, allowing the hero to sacrifice himself. The hero is now ready to obtain that which he has set out, an item or new awareness that, once he returns, will benefit the society that he has left. Chapter III: Return 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. When the boon's acquirement (or the hero's return to the world) comes against opposition, a chase or pursuit may ensue before the hero returns. The hero may need to be rescued by forces from the ordinary world. This may be because the hero has refused to return or because he is successfully blocked from returning with the boon. The hero loses his ego. The hero returns to the world of common day and must accept it as real. Because of the boon or due to his experience, the hero may now perceive both the divine and human worlds. The hero bestows the boon to his fellow man. Chapter IV: The Keys PART TWO: The Cosmogonic Cycle Chapter I: Emanations Chapter II: The Virgin Birth Chapter III: Transformations of the Hero Chapter IV: Dissolutions Epilogue: Myth and Society ARTISTS INFLUENCED BY WORK See Also: Monomyth ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' has influenced a number of artists, musicians, poets, and filmmakers, including Bob Dylan and George Lucas . Mickey Hart , Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead had long noted Campbell's influence and agreed to participate in a seminar with him in 1986 entitled ''From Ritual to Rapture''. {Link without Title} . {Link without Title} George Lucas' deliberate use of Campbell's theory of the monomyth in the making of the '' Star Wars '' movies is well-documented. In addition to the extensive discussion between Campbell and Bill Moyers , broadcast in 1988 on PBS as '' The Power Of Myth '' (filmed at " Skywalker Ranch "), on Campbell's influence on the ''Star Wars'' films, Lucas gave an extensive interview for the biography ''Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind'' (Larsen and Larsen, 2002, pages 541-543) on this topic. '', which became the basis for a number of successful Hollywood films and is believed to have been used in the development of the '' Matrix '' series. BACKGROUND Campbell used the work of early 20th Century theorists to develop his model of the hero (see also Structuralism ), including Freud (particularly the Oedipus Complex ), Carl Jung ( Archetypal figures and the Collective Unconscious ), and Arnold Van Gennep (the three stages of ''The Rites of Passage'', translated by Campbell into ''Departure,'' ''Separation,'' and ''Return''). Campbell also looked to the work of ethnographers James Frazer and Franz Boas and psychologist Otto Rank . Campbell called this journey of the hero the '' (in 1944 he had authored '' A Skeleton Key To Finnegans Wake '' with Henry Morton Robinson ), and Campbell borrowed the term ''monomyth'' from Joyce's '' Finnegans Wake ''. In addition, Joyce's '' Ulysses '' was also highly influential in the structuring of ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces.'' The and a new cover . Quotes ''Preface'': CRITICISM FOOTNOTES REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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