The Hero’s Journey or the Monomyth is a theory proposed by Joseph Campbell to outline the main plot pattern of most of the humanity of the narrative has encountered throughout history. His theory emphasizes 17 stages of the main character’s journey. While some epic heroes like Moses, Prometheus, Jesus, and Osiris fit the framework, some, like the challenges of Hercules, entail much more than the surface-level meaning. A deeper examination of the narrative uncovers that most myths indeed follow all the patterns of conflict, but not only externally, but internally. As a lost son of gods, Hercules was faced with a choice to either have a simple human life or undergo twelve life challenges to prove his worthiness as a divine creature. This paper will analyze the myth of Hercules, and prove that some heroes consciously choose the Hero’s Path and experience it more psychologically rather than psychically, serving as a metaphor for their heroic transformation.
The Unusual Hero and Hercules flaw as the Internal Battle
First of all, the reason why some heroes might experience the Monomyth internally more than externally is their personality and absence of the profile of the hero, as seen in the characteristic of Hercules. While being half-god, he is also inherently human in his flaws like the lack of self-control, which eventually leads to his defeat. However, what makes him divine and, eventually, equal to gods, is the desire to overcome his imperfections and prove that he is worthy. He is driven by the desire oforfairness and being equal (Hercules, p. 227). Due to his superhuman power, he appears cruel; for instance, as a child, he killed two snakes with his bare hands and then murders his children in the act of madness (Hercules, p. 222). His imperfection entails being the reason for his misfortune.
However, the fatal flaw then becomes his call to action to cross the threshold and enter the unknown world. This inherent flaw of uncontrollable cruelness later in the myth makes him kill his second wife Deianira by using the poisoned centaur blood to regain his love (p. 233). These acts make him an uunlikeablehero; however, despite the description that Campbell portrays in his Monomyth, Hercules attempts to overcome his flaw and show that he is worthy of being a god, which transforms him (Campbell, p. 345). At the start of his journey for ultimate power as a result, he was not shaped to be a hero internally due to his personal flaws. However, what made Hercules start the journey is his intrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation as A Call to Action
Given the unusual profile of the character, the hero experiences the separation stage of the Hero’s Journey from within rather than being motivated by external forces. Culture might shape the hero’s departure from the unknown world endogenously. While he is motivated by a naturally-occurred conflict, he is the one to make a conscious choice to cross the threshold. According to Campbell, however, the initial call to action, the first stage that sets the narrative in motion, is supposed to be provoked physically and create a conflict for the hero to resolve (p. 234). More specifically, for example, a famous hero “Odysseus is driven about the Mediterranean by the winds of the angered god” (Campbell, p. 48). Although simia lar stage happens to Hercules, not the conflict with gods provoked him to agree to the ten challenges, but his own choice (Hercules, p. 234). He was the one who brought the hardship onto himself, while he had the choice not to. Therefore, one of the inherent characteristics of the Separation stage of the Monomyth is also the choice between hardship and refusal to endure the struggle of adventure and transformation.
Hero’s Journey as the Transformation
The choice for continuing the adventure, leaving the known world, and entering the hard life serves as the ultimate transformation from non-a hero to a hero. At the beginning of the myth, the reader sees a man with no self-control that is bound to be trialed as the murderer of his own children (Hercules, p. 222). However, his willing choice to enter the world of the unknown and experience hardship transforms him into the epic hero Campbell describes. Campbell’s framework shows how the hero brings back the “boon” to his homeworld to make his and others’ lives easier (p. 163). However, what he fails to acknowledge is that the hero himself returns better than he left, bringing positive change into the world. For Hercules, the boon that he brings back from his trials is not only his children and immortality, but also the correction of his ultimate flaw of a short temper (Hercules, p. 234). In that sense, he does not only fulfill his quest of saving his family and becoming divine, but also transformation. Thus, the twelve challenges he had to undergo could be the reflection of him battling his inner demons and his return as the victory over the..
As a result of the choice to defend his dignitity, Hercules endures many challenges, which reflect his life story of hardship.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while heroes experience the Monomyth pattern influenced by external forces, the choice to start, endure, and complete the journey is a reflection of the characters’ transformation to a better version of themselves. Although the Hero’s Journey and the lifestory of many main characters in myths revolve around the physical, tangible goal, many conflicts and points of the Monomyth happen internally for the hero. As the example of Hercules implies, the unusual hero has to have an internal fatal flaw that he later has to change through his path in the Unknown. As opposed to being challenged by other characters, the main hero confronts himself to change and become the true hero. Therefore, while Campbell’s theory outlines the universal myth, it also fails to recognize the importance character’s transformation.
References
- Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Novato, California: New World Library, 2008.
- Hamilton, Edith. “Hercules.” Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Black Dog & Leventhal Publisher, 2011, pp. 218–23.