The Archetypal Hero What Do Simba, King Arthur, Moses, and William Wallace all have in common?

Jung and Campbell Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell developed the idea of the archetype Archetype: A recurring pattern of images, situations, or symbols found in the mythology, religion, art, and dreams of cultures around the world Joseph Campbell Carl Jung "Each of us has within us a secretly potent pantheon."

Types of Literary Heroes Many different styles of literature have different heroes. Heroes always reflect the values and customs of their cultures. We are looking at EPIC /Archetypal heroes only!

Archetypal Hero Traits Unusual Circumstances of Birth Leaves Family and Lives With Others Traumatic Event Leads to Quest

More traits Special Weapon Supernatural Help Proves Himself on Quest Journey and Unhealable Wound Atonement With Father Spiritual Apotheosis

Unusual Birth Often in danger or born into royalty Simba born a prince Moses put in basket King Arthur in danger from Uther Pendragon’s rivals

Leaves Family Raised away from his people Simba w/ Timon and Pumbaa King Arthur w/ Merlin William Wallace with uncle Moses w/ Pharaoh’s daughter

Traumatic Event A hero’s life is changed forever Wallace’s wife is killed Arthur pulls sword from stone Simba fights Nala Yahweh appears to Moses

Special Weapon Only the hero can wield his weapon Arthur’s Excalibur Moses’ staff Wallace’s sword Simba’s... claws?

Supernatural Help Hero often has spiritual guidance Arthur has Merlin Yahweh guides Moses Wallace dreams of his dead father Simba sees Mufasa in the sky and has Rafiki help him

Proves Himself Hero performs feats while on Quest Arthur leads battles Moses performs miracles Simba contemplates his life Wallace leads his men against British

Journey & Unhealable Wound Hero descends into a hell- like area and suffers wounding from encounter w/ evil Symbolically goes where normal humans can’t and finds truth about self

Atonement With Father Hero either redeems father’s evil deeds or reconciles with father over wrongs done by the hero

Apotheosis Hero is rewarded spiritually at the end of his life

The Hero’s Journey This pattern of story was identified by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell, after studying many cultures, found that all hero myths conform to some degree to this pattern.

The Hero’s Journey The archetype is divided into three sections: Departure Initiation Return

The Hero’s Journey - Departure 1.The Call to Adventure. a)Can begin in a number of ways. b)Appearance of a “herald”. c)Call often occurs in an unusual place.

d)Herald often dark, loathly, terrifying. e)Signals that destiny has called the hero.

The Hero’s Journey - Departure 2.Refusal of the Call a)If the hero refuses the journey becomes a negative adventure. b)Refusal signals a refusal to relinquish one’s own self- interest.

c)The hero becomes fixed in one’s own system of beliefs and values

The Hero’s Journey - Departure 3.Supernatural Aid a)The first encounter of the journey is with a protective figure. b)This protector (or mentor) provides the hero with protective amulets

c)This figure represents the divine and protecting power of destiny.

The Hero’s Journey - Departure 4.Crossing the First Threshold a)Next encounter is with a guardian of the threshold – the entrance to a realm of magnified power. b)These guardians protect the world in the four directions and up and down.

c)They stand for the limits of the hero’s present sphere or life horizon. d)Sometimes the threshold consists of some form of opposites.

The Hero’s Journey - Departure d)When the hero has passed the threshold he often leaves his ego behind.

The Hero’s Journey - Departure 5.The Belly of the Whale a)Now in the sphere of rebirth. b)“belly of the whale” – image of a womb. c)The passage of the first threshold is a kind of self- annihilation. A new self must be born.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 6.The Road of Trials a)Next stage is through a dream-like landscape of fluid, ambiguous forms. b)The hero must survive a succession of trials.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 6.The Road of Trials (contd.) c)The trials have the effect of purifying the self – the senses are cleansed and humbled and the energies and interests are concentrated upon transcendental things.

c)The ordeal is deepening the problem of the first threshold – can the ego put itself to death?

Possible trials Battle with brother Abduction Night or Underworld Passage Dragon battle Ritual Death,Dismemberment: Sparagmos

The Western Dragon Serpentine, possesses magical power Feeds on symbolism of snakes, but also uses symbolism of birds Western Dragons represent evil, greed, power. Dragons are essentially greedy; however, they are not able to use the objects they desire. Heroes typically fight ("slay") dragons to gain control over territory; dragons are also usually guardians of a treasure, whether it be material (as in GOLD) or symbolic (as in knowledge).GOLD

Oriental Dragons In the Orient, the dragon symbolizes supernatural power, wisdom, strength, and hidden knowledge. It is associated with the depths of the unknown sea, with the mountaintops, and with the clouds. In most traditions, it is the embodiment of chaos and untamed nature.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 7.The Meeting with the Goddess a)Many times, after all the trials, the adventure fixes upon a marriage with the Queen Goddess of the world. b)The goddess may be wonderful and divine … or…

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 7.The Meeting with the Goddess (contd.) c)It may represent the “bad” mom 1)The absent, unattainable mother 2)The hampering, forbidden, punishing mother 3)The mother who would hold to herself the growing child 4)The desired but forbidden mother

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 7.The Meeting with the Goddess (contd.) d)In mythology, woman represents the totality of what can be known, and the hero is coming to know.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 8.Woman as Temptress a)Marriage to the goddess brings a significant positive moment to the hero, but also it suggests the role of the father. b)The hero begins to equate himself with what his father did morally.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 8.Woman as Temptress (contd.) c)But with morality and marriage comes the realization of lust, and this brings the realization that woman us seductress and that father was seduced.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 9.Atonement with the Father a)The father is seen as ogre. b)Atonement (at-one-ment) consists in no more than the abandonment of the monstrous parts of the self – c)The dragon thought to be God (Freud’s superego) d)The dragon thought to be sin (repressed id)

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 9.Atonement with the Father (contd.) e)Getting rid of these monsters requires abandonment of the attachment to the ego itself. f)The hero may derive help from the female.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 9.Atonement with the Father (contd.) g)Atonement with the father is really the result of a series of initiation trials that have purged the hero of ego. h)The father then releases some specialized knowledge to the hero.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 10.Apotheosis a)The hero now attains a level of transcendence – not tied to the interests of the world. b)This is a kind of Enlightenment c)The final truth is that the transcendent lives within the hero and within everyone and everything.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 10.Apotheosis (contd.) d)Once the hero accepts this fact, the dualities of the world become meaningless. e)Duality is the cause of most of the problems in the world. f)One no longer needs to see the world in black and white terms. God is present in all.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 11. The Ultimate Boon a)Once the hero has achieved this divine status, many new things become possible. b)Usually the hero easily accomplishes Herculean tasks.

The Hero’s Journey - Initiation 11. The Ultimate Boon (contd.) c)Sometimes there is a spiritual twin –spiritual soul not affected by physical damage to body. d)The hero may have direct contact with transcendent beings

The Hero’s Journey - Return 12.Refusal of the Return a)The task of the hero now is to return with his life- transforming knowledge. b)There are examples of some heroes who refuse the return: 1)Buddha 2)Christ

The Hero’s Journey - Return 13.The Magic Flight a)If the transcendent powers agree to the hero’s return, then all the powers of the transcendent world support the hero’s return journey.

b)If the transcendent powers oppose the hero’s escape and return, the return journey often becomes comic.

The Hero’s Journey - Return 14.Rescue from Without a)The hero may be brought back from his supernatural adventure by assistance from without. b)Sometimes, this rescue from without is a manifestation of the supernatural assistance

The Hero’s Journey - Return 15.The Crossing of the Return Threshold. a)The final part of the journey is the hero dealing with the impact of his knowledge on the world. b)He may reveal his wisdom, but the wisdom is only partially used, or misused, and the need arises for another hero.

The Hero’s Journey - Return 16.Master of Two Worlds a)The hero retains the ability to cross easily from the real to the transcendent world, and back.

The Hero’s Journey - Return 17.Freedom to Live a)The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is. b)The hero understands the difference between an apparent changelessness in time and the Ultimate Being of which he has gained knowledge.