Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”

The 12 Stages of The Hero’s Journey

One of my book clubs in currently reading a book by Joseph Campbell. Born in 1904, Campbell wrote his seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in 1949.  As a comparative mythology professor, he discovered a universal pattern common to a heroic tale in every culture.  And his book, using examples from antiquity to modern times from cultures all over the world, outlines the mythic pattern of the hero’s mission, which includes departure, transformation, and return.

Joseph Campbell became fascinated with Native American culture as a young boy having seen Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.  That began his personal journey towards studying myth. And his book continues to influence creative artists today, inspiring anyone in “the inherent human need to tell stories.”  

A popular form of structure derived from Joseph Campbell mythic pattern is the Twelve Stage Hero’s Journey. This is essentially a more detailed Character Arc for the story’s hero which is overlayed onto the more traditional three-act structure that many successful Hollywood movies such as Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz appear to follow. This structure is also used today by organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous to create a hero’s journey to effect positive change. This is such a powerful and ubiquitous concept that I thought I would summarize the 12 steps of the hero’s journey. Do not read the book yourself unless you are ready for some very dense reading.

1. Ordinary World

This is where the Hero exists before his journey begins, oblivious of the adventures to come. It’s his safe place. His everyday life where we learn crucial details about our Hero, his true nature, capabilities and outlook on life. This anchors the Hero as a human, just like you and me, and makes it easier for us to identify with him or her and hence later, empathize with the hero’s plight. Recall Luke Skywalker helping his uncle, Frodo preparing for a party while talking with Gandalf, Harry Potter living at his aunt and uncle’s home, and Mulan studying to impress the matchmaker.  

2. Call To Adventure

The Hero’s adventure begins when he receives a call to action, such as a direct threat to his safety, his family, his way of life or to the peace of the community in which he lives. It may not be as dramatic as a gunshot, but simply a phone call or conversation. But whatever the call is, and however it manifests itself, it ultimately disrupts the comfort of the Hero’s Ordinary World and presents a challenge or quest that must be undertaken. In our own lives it could be that we get fired from our job, we must move, we have a falling out with a relative or a friend, or that drug and alcohol use has placed relationships on rocky ground.  Likely there is an event, conflict, or problem that prompts the adventure. 

3. Refusal Of The Call

Although the Hero may be eager to accept the quest or knows he should accept, at this stage he will have fears that need overcoming. Second thoughts or even deep personal doubts as to whether or not he is up to the challenge. When this happens, the Hero will refuse the call and as a result may suffer. The problem he faces may seem too great or the comfort of home or what is known as far more attractive than the perilous road ahead. This would also be our own response and once again helps us bond further with the reluctant Hero. For example, family or friends may have suggested that we go to therapy, and we aren’t quite ready.  We might be afraid of what to expect in therapy.  Whatever the reason, the call to adventure is rejected initially.

4. Meeting The Mentor

At this crucial turning point where the Hero desperately needs guidance, he meets a mentor figure who gives him something he needs. He could be given an object of great importance, insight into the dilemma he faces, wise advice, practical training or even self-confidence. Whatever the mentor provides, it serves to dispel our hero’s doubts and fears and gives him the strength and courage to begin his quest. In our own lives we might encounter a friend or family member that has had a similar experience. This person can give advice, guidance, and insight to help us gain confidence.

5. Crossing The Threshold

The Hero is now ready to act upon his call to adventure and truly begin his quest, whether it be physical, spiritual or emotional. He may go willingly, or he may be pushed, but either way he finally crosses the threshold between the world he is familiar with and that which he is not. It may be leaving home for the first time in his life or just doing something he has always been afraid to do. Whatever form the threshold presents itself, this action signifies the Hero’s commitment to his journey and whatever it may have in store for him. Frodo packed food to take and set out past the Shire.  Luke Skywalker leaves Tatooine.  Harry Potter gets on the train at platform 9¾.  Mulan sets out to the military camp.  This is where our hero – it could be one of us – heads out to begin the adventure of reclaiming our life.

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

Now finally out of his comfort zone the Hero is confronted with an ever more difficult series of challenges that test him in a variety of ways. Obstacles are thrown across his path; whether they be physical hurdles or people bent on thwarting his progress, the Hero must overcome each challenge.

The Hero needs to find out who can be trusted and who can’t. He may earn allies and meet enemies who will, each in their own way, help prepare him for the greater ordeals yet to come – like Hedwig, Hermione, and Ron, Sam, Mushu, and R2D2 and C3PO.  His skills and/or powers are tested and every obstacle that he faces helps us gain a deeper insight into his character and helps us to identify with him even more. Our own tests or barriers may be childcare, time off work, finances, or even a lack of self-confidence.

7. Approach To The Inmost Cave

The inmost cave may represent many things in the Hero’s story such as an actual location in which lies a terrible danger or an inner conflict which up until now the Hero has faced. As the Hero approaches the cave, he must make final preparations before taking that final leap into the great unknown. 

At the threshold to the inmost cave the Hero may once again face some of the doubts and fears that first surfaced upon his call to adventure. He may need some time to reflect upon his journey and the treacherous road ahead to find the courage to continue. For us it may be working through feelings of shame and guilt. To continue, we may need to come to an understanding of why it took so long to take this journey. In movies and fiction, this brief respite helps the audience understand the magnitude of the ordeal that awaits the Hero and escalates the tension in anticipation of his ultimate test.

8. Ordeal

The Supreme Ordeal may be a dangerous physical test or a deep inner crisis that the Hero must face to survive or for the world in which the Hero lives remain in existence. Whether it be facing his greatest fear or most deadly foe, the Hero must draw upon all of his skills and experiences gathered upon the path to the inmost cave and an inner strength not tapped into before to overcome his most difficult challenge. 

Only through some form of “death” can the Hero be reborn, experiencing a metaphorical resurrection that somehow grants him greater power or insight necessary to fulfill his destiny or reach his journey’s end.

For example, in therapy the therapist may ask us to delve deep into our psyche to address our most significant challenge.  The work is challenging, but so worth the reward. This is the highpoint of the Hero’s story and where everything he holds dear is put on the line. If he fails, he will either die or life as he knows it will never be the same again.

9. Reward (Seizing The Sword)

After defeating the enemy, surviving death and finally overcoming his greatest personal challenge, the Hero is ultimately transformed into a new state, emerging from battle as a stronger person and often with a prize. Mulan’s life was spared after it was discovered that she was a girl.  Luke received the Death Star plans, Harry Potter received the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Frodo received the sword. 

The Reward may come in many forms: an object of great importance or power, a secret, greater knowledge or insight, or even reconciliation with a loved one or ally. Whatever the treasure, which may well facilitate his return to the Ordinary World, the Hero must quickly put celebrations aside and prepare for the last leg of his journey.

10. The Road Back

This stage in the Hero’s journey represents a reverse echo of the Call to Adventure in which the Hero had to cross the first threshold. Now he must return home with his reward but this time the anticipation of danger is replaced with that of acclaim and perhaps vindication, absolution or even exoneration. 

But the Hero’s journey is not yet over, and he may still need one last push back into the Ordinary World. The moment before the Hero finally commits to the last stage of his journey may be a moment in which he must choose between his own personal objective and that of a Higher Cause.

11. Resurrection

This is the climax in which the Hero must have his final and most dangerous encounter with death. The final battle also represents something far greater than the Hero’s own existence with its outcome having far-reaching consequences to his Ordinary World and the lives of those he left behind. During the ordeal phase, we may have looked at shadowy places in our past.  During the resurrection, one final challenge awaits.  Mulan warns the rest of the army that Shan Yu is hiding to attack.  No one believes her, and she must convince them of the danger.  In our own resurrections, we might face the deep, dark secrets that we had forgotten about.

Like the hero, if we fail, others may suffer, and this places more weight upon our shoulders. In movies and novels, these dynamics grab the audience so that they too feel part of the conflict and share the Hero’s hopes, fears and trepidation. Ultimately the Hero will succeed, destroy his enemy and emerge from battle cleansed and reborn.

12. Return With The Elixir

This is the final stage of the Hero’s journey in which he returns home to his Ordinary World a changed person. He will have grown, learned many things, faced many terrible dangers, but now looks forward to the start of a new life. His return may bring fresh hope to those he left behind, a direct solution to their problems or perhaps a new perspective for everyone to consider. 

The final reward may be literal or metaphoric. It could be a cause for celebration, self-realization or an end to strife, but whatever it is it represents three things: change, success and proof of his journey. The return home also signals the need for resolution for the story’s other key players. The Hero’s doubters will be ostracized, his enemies punished, and his allies rewarded. Ultimately the Hero will return to where he started but things will clearly never be the same.  This is the ultimate rebirth.