A Hero With A Thousand Faces Chapter Summary

A World of Symbolism “Whether dream or myth, in these adventures there is an atmosphere of irresistible fascination.”(51) In the book Hero with a Thousand Faces, written by Joseph Campbell, the author tells of a hero’s journey into his adventure of his life. Campbell puts forth the idea of the monomyth as something that every plot line follows this archetype. He portrays this from start to finish beginning with the call, the trials, the help the hero will receive, the eventual conquering, the receiving of the bounty and the return to his life.

The call to adventure according to Campbell usually begins with the arrival of the herald. The herald may consist of a person, an animal, an object or even just a situation that is not dealt with well.

Usually the adventurer is given special information or tools to aid in the success of his journey. Campbell says "protective power is always and ever present within the sanctuary of the heart and even immanent within, or just behind, the unfamiliar features of the world". (66) The hero may feel alone but there is always strength guiding him when he faces his first challenge. The first passage usually entails a trick of the mind by something the hero either desires or fears. Only when the hero can see through the illusion will he be able to pass beyond into the next challenge. The hero is now “swallowed into the unknown” (83), facing his own mortality. He must release all of his past ego, fears and insecurities yet once he faces these he again will be aided in his trials. The hero must now face a series of tests and

Campbell illustrates this with a series of examples of dreams being the manifestation of a person’s deepest inner fears such as the stutterer who had to overcome many obstacles only to lose his breath. Both good and evil can be found within and the hero must face both until “he finds that he and his opposite are not of differing species, but one flesh”. (99) Now the hero is ready to meet the goddess. The goddess represents both birth and death, light and dark, and love and hate “the goddess at once creates, preserves, and destroys.” (105) It is only when the hero can see and accept the goddess for all of her inner qualities and not try to conquer the goddess will he become greater himself and receive many bounties. Yet Campbell then portrays women as great temptresses set out to steal virtue from men. He expounds the idea that if the hero succumbs to the temptress he will lose a vital piece of