The monomyth

1. The monomyth Lecture 2/2

3. The Belly of the whale • The separation of the hero’s world and the ego • Represents an acceptance of letting go of the world he/she knows to undergo the journey • Often represented through a dark, womb-like place • A place of rebirth • “That is why the approaches and entrances…are flanked and defended by colossal gargoyles…the devotee…undergoes a metamorphosis”(Campbell 111).

4. Part Two: Initiation

5. The Road of trials • A series of tests, ordeals, etc; • Often there is failure on the hero’s part to conquer all

6. The meeting with the Goddess • The hero experiences a love that parallels that which the infant’s mother hopefully gave the infant • Often is the hero falling into true love • Associated with times of sleep and/or sex

7. Woman as the Temptress • The woman is really a metaphor for temptation in general • The hero is lured away from his quest • “The seeker of life beyond life must press beyond, surpass the temptations of her call, and soar to the immaculate ether beyond”(Campbell 132).

8. Atonement with the father • The hero must confront by whatever holds ultimate power in his or her life • Often symbolized with a male figure, but not necessary • “Atonement consists in no more than the abandonment of that self-generated double monster- the dragon thought to be God (superego) and the dragon thought to be Sin (repressed id). But this requires an abandonment of the attachment to ego itself”(Campbell 143).

9. apotheosis • The hero has confronted the worst and may now rest • Often has a smoke break • The hero is no longer subservient- becomes godlike • symbolic killing of the self- time to share

10. The ultimate Boon • This is the achievement of the quest- what the journey was all about • Often symbolized with a plant

11. Return

12. Refusal of the REturn • Having found enlightenment, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to share his wisdom • “the boon may redound to the community, the nation…Even Gautama Buddha, after his triumph, doubted whether the message of realization could be communicated”(Campbell 156).

13. The Magic flight • The hero must escape with the boon, as the gods guard it • Often represented by riding in or on some conveyance • If the gods want the hero to return with the boon, the return journey is easy. If the gods wish the opposite, the opposite is true.

14. Rescue from without • Just like the hero needed friends and guides as he set out, so, too, does he need them upon return, especially if the hero is weakened by the experience • “The world may have to come and get him”(Campbell 159).

15. Crossing the return threshold • The hero returns from his quest • Going from the subconscious back to the conscious • “The returning hero, to complete his adventure, must survive the impact of the world…the passing joys and sorrows, banalities and noisy obscenities of life. Why re-enter such a world?”(Campbell 167).

16. Master of two worlds • Often a transcendental hero like Jesus or the Buddha • For the normal human, it is the balance between the material and the spiritual

17. Freedom to live • The hero is freed from the fear of death and may now live • Living in the moment