fandomhigh | Monomyths [Tuesday, February 2, Period 3]

Cindy was perched on the edge of her desk today, cradling a cup of coffee. She began speaking as soon as the bell rang; they had even more material than usual to cover today. "Two weeks ago, we talked about the worlds where the heroes of the masculine and feminine journeys began. Heroes on the masculine journey start out in a world of perfection--it's safe, secure, and usually filled with people who care for him. Heroes on the feminine journey start out in a world filled with the illusion of perfection, but we also discussed the coping mechanisms they use to ignore the places where the illusion grows thin. Overall, what do we have? Two sets of heroes that have no real reason to go anywhere or do anything. Which is incredibly boring to watch or read. Which brings us to today's lesson: kicking the heroes' collective asses out of the world they're living in and onto the path of adventure."

Setting her coffee aside, she angled forward a bit. "So, how is that done? It's probably easier to guess how the boot is applied to the feminine journey than the masculine one. How do you get someone out of the illusion of the perfect world? Easy enough: you shatter the illusion. Which is why the second part of Act I is called The Betrayal or the Realization: something happens and the hero wakes up to the web of lies that makes up her life. Or his, because, remember it's the journey that specifically gendered, not the hero--though I generally stick to the same-gendered pronouns for simplicity's sake. Anyway, the betrayal may come from society, from the hero herself, or from the villain if there is one. In some cases, it may be as simple as a realization that the hero wants something more from life than she's getting, but that's very rare. Usually there is an outside factor or event, perhaps even one instigated or created by the hero, that caused this betrayal. And it's a betrayal so close to home that the hero can't avoid facing it at all. She realizes that no one else can fix this and so she has to do something, because the pretty world she's believed in all along has now come crashing around her ears."

"For the heroes on the masculine journey, however, things are much more simple. There's no painful betrayal or realization at work. Instead, the hero just hears...The Call." Cindy's expression and posture shifted on 'The Call'. Her hand became a fist, poised over her heart, her eyes went distant, and if she's been playing a movie, the screen would have just switched to a montage of heroic images and square-jawed men going off to serve Uncle Sam for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Her voice, on the other hand, carried just the slightest hint of mockery. Hey, it was tough not to be over-the-top when you were talking about something titled 'The Call.' "The hero can hear The Call--" pose "--from any number of sources. It could be a challenge issued by the villain, an idea or an order from a friend or superior, or just the trumpet of his own ego sending him forth. He usually has some goal in mind, though since he hasn't yet gotten in touch with his heart, he most likely doesn't know what's really important to him or what he truly wants to accomplish."

[OCD up!]

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Cindy didn't mind pausing. "What's up, Jaime?" she asked.

He glanced back down at his notes again before looking up. "If the villain shows up and destroys or attacks the hero's actually-perfect world... Is that masculine or feminine? I mean... is that some sort of Call, or is it a Betrayal?"

"Good question," Cindy said, giving Jaime an approving nod. "If it really is an actually-perfect world, then it counts as a Call. It can be either a Challenge, if the enemy meant it as a threat or a taunt for the hero, or an Ego Call, if the hero takes it upon himself to rescue his village or punish the enemy. It may still be a regular kind of betrayal, assuming the villain was once someone the hero trusted, but since it isn't showing the hero how flawed his worldview had been, it still functions as a Call." She offered him a smile. "Do you have an example in mind?"

"Not really." Jaime shrugged. "Just... trying to figure out the difference. And... it seems like all that matter is whether the perfection is real or an illusion?" He wasn't sure, but... that's what it felt like. "I mean... a thing could be either a Call or a Betrayal, and the only thing that determines one or the other is if the world is really perfect or not."

Right?

"You're right, it is very subjective," Cindy said, the hints of a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. "That's because people react differently to the same stimuli. Let's look at it this way. Say there are two people in the same village, a husband and wife. The wife has always felt smothered and empty in her marriage, though she refuses to acknowledge it, focusing on being the best wife ever. The husband has always wanted to be wealthy and has dedicated his life to being the most prosperous merchant in the village. Then their village is destroyed, but both the husband and wife survive. They can follow the exact same physical journey--they've decided to hunt down the villain and take vengeance--but his internal journey will make him understand that everything he's lived for before wasn't actually worth what he'd thought it was, while her internal journey would show her that she's worth more than simply being a perfect wife. Does that make sense?"

Monomyths [Tuesday, February 2, Period 3]

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