Assignment #5 The Hero's Journey

The Hero Archetype

The hero is the major archetypal symbol of the psyche; the hero archetype is

fundamental to human storytelling. Because the human psyche is universal in its

makeup, all humans share a common archetypal structure just as all share a common

physical nature. As the individual human psyche develops it goes through the same

archetypal stages that have governed the evolution of consciousness in the whole of

humanity. The hero archetype exemplifies that course

of development.

The hero archetype embodies in person, in action, and

in idea, the important values of the culture. But the

hero is not conservative; the hero leads the way to

constructive change. An advance in the spiritual level

of a culture begins with one individual who builds upon

and then transcends the collective beliefs of his people.

The hero discovers new paths; the hero charts the unknown.

Every culture has its heroes. According to Joseph Campbell, the mythologist who has

done the most complete study of the hero archetype, a hero is a person who can go

beyond his personal limitation as well as the limitations imposed upon him by his

culture. A true hero’s goal is to achieve an understanding of the universal truths of

mankind’s existence, and when he achieves this objective, he must return to this people

to teach the lessons he has learned. As the great mother archetype was feminine in

nature, the hero is considered to be masculine in nature – even if the hero figure is

female.

Campbell suggests that “the standard path of the mythological adventures of the hero is

a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation – initiation

– return.” These ceremonies celebrate the birth and naming of a child, a young

person’s growth into puberty, as well as milestones like marriage and burial. They mark

the physical, mental and spiritual changes that young women and men undergo as they

grow and develop to fill a variety of roles in society. “Apparently,” says Campbell, “there

is something in these initiatory images so necessary to the psyche that if they are not

supplied from without, through myth and ritual, they will have to be announced again,

through dream, from within.”

Fate seldom requires the hero make his journey to

enlightenment without assistance. Early in his quest he

meets a protective figure who by the use of some wisdom or

power helps the hero to survive the trials of the initiation.

These helper figures are also archetypes; they are the wise

old man, the helpful animal, or even aspects of the mother archetype.

The challenges the hero must face differ considerably in their particulars but are

universally similar. Whatever the details of the trials, there is always a battle between

the forces of good and evil.

According to Campbell the true hero figure must return to his people and bring to them

the “boon” he has earned. This may be a special ritual or ceremony, a period of peace

and prosperity, or an insight into the real truths of mankind’s existence which the hero

will try to teach to his people.