The Monomyth

1. The Monomyth Lecture one of three

2. Sigmund Freud 1856-1939 many of our mother/father issues stem from the nurturing/challenging roles they play an explanation of the virgin/whore archetype focuses on our early development Id, ego, superego Id= our primitive impulses/urges 1st to develop Superego= rules/morality imposed by society and parents Ego= the self that balances the two http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1FhojCo

4. Carl Jung 1875-1961 A disciple of Freud’s Posits theory of the Collective Unconscious Theory of archetypes More concerned with development in later life

5. Joseph Campbell 1904-1987 American Mythologist Discovers a universality of mythology The “Monomyth”- a pattern of journey stories common to almost all cultures Monomyth exists because it’s wired into us…a subconscious expression of leaving home and growing into adulthood Seminal work: The Hero With a Thousand Faces- 1949 Myth reconciles “the inconvenient or resisted psychological powers that we have not thought or dared integrate into our lives”(8).

6. “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”(12).

7. The call to adventure • A hero is either intentionally called to go on an adventure, or, more commonly stumbles somehow into it. • This blunder reveals an unknown world full of risk. • These “blunders” are not mere chance- Freud believed they are “the result of suppressed desires and conflicts”(Campbell 51). • “the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit”(Campbell 51) • “Typical of the circumstances of the call are the dark forest…”(Campbell 51). • Metaphorically, the first separation from the mother…the first steps toward adulthood • Typically, there is a guide figure • Adventure will take the hero to a distant land, forest, etc;

8. The refusal of the call • The hero wavers, not desiring to leave the familiar world • “the refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interests”(Campbell 60). • “One is bound in by the walls of childhood; the father and the mother stand as threshold guardians, and the timorous soul, fearful of some punishment”(Campbell 62). • The first steps of becoming an adult…day one of kindergarten • We really don’t want to grow up, but to become complete humans, we must face fears and slay metaphoric monsters

9. Supernatural aid • “For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter of the hero-journey is with a protective figure”(Campbell 69). • This can be a charm, amulet, or even a person of some power • The fairy godmother • “Not infrequently, the supernatural helper is masculine…[a] little fellow of the wood…who appears…to supply the advice that the hero will require”(Campbell 72). • Motherly and fatherly at the same time • Lovable…more so than the hero

10. Crossing the First threshold • Symbolic first step on journey • A step into the subconscious- our fears to be faced • “the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to the ‘threshold guardian’ at the entrance to the zone of magnified power”(Campbell 77). • “Beyond them is darkness, the unknown, and danger; just as beyond the parental watch is danger”(Campbell 77). • Typically desert, jungle, forest, ocean, other foreign land

11. Joseph Campbell in his own words http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJwPIiUPfK4