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

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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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Like you're leaving home!

As you do.

More papers to pass out. "In the Epic of Gilgamesh (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab2.htm), Gilgamesh is bored. So he decides to journey to the ancient and sacred cedar forest, cut down a few trees, and kill the ancient demon Humbaba. He figures this is an excellent way to find some entertainment, make even more of a name for himself, and get some really nice sacred cedar furniture. Seriously, kids, Gilgamesh was kind of a jackass. You get that a lot at the beginning of masculine journeys."

"On the feminine journey side, we have Inanna visiting Enki, the god of wisdom (http://www.reweaving.org/inanna3.html). Inanna and Enki have a grand time eating and feasting together and Enki gives Inanna all of his mes or holy objects. Inanna heads home, thinking that she's just had a fabulous afternoon and then Enki sobers up, demanding to know what happened to all of his possessions. Informed that he's given them away, he sends his servants to wrest them back from Inanna. She takes this betrayal to heart (http://www.jameswbell.com/m011inannaandenki.html), even though she manages to keep the mes, realizing how quickly she can fall into and out of favor."

"Often, the betrayal is tailored to specifically counter the coping strategy she's using. The Naive Hero hero is hurt or abused and there was no one there to protect her. She may discover the people she trusts most are unworthy of that trust--perhaps they're planning on harming her, or they may just secretly be awful people. Her guardian dies or abandons her, or perhaps she loses her house, her job, or all of her money and has no one to turn to."

"The Pleasing Hero finds herself trampled on and taken advantage of. No matter how hard she tries, nothing is good enough; she's ridiculed, devalued, and harshly criticized. She may even be penalized for her actions, like taking time off to have a child or nurse a sick relative back to health. Her kindness and politeness are used to make her into a victim."

"The Exceptional Hero discovers she isn't as much of 'one of the guys' as she thought. Perhaps she's passed up for another promotion, even if she's the better qualified candidate. She sees way in which she's treated unequally to the men or excluded from their talks or activities. Credit for her work is taken by another, or even given to another on the basis that it was 'too good to come from a woman, even her.' Her romantic relationship might sour because she can't juggle both a life and a career."

"The Fairy Tale Hero is left without male protection or support. Perhaps a more beautiful woman comes on the scene, causing men to flock to her, or perhaps her protector dies. She may realize she's been used only as a sexual object, while her man was pursuing another woman to marry and bring home to mother or her social standing might fall because she's rumored as being 'easy' or 'used goods.' Perhaps a jealous rival tears her reputation or relationship to shreds."

"Lastly, the Disappointed Hero has just been pushed too far, usually by someone in a position of power. Her back is against a wall, and she's unable to avoid the attack or humiliation that's coming. It is with this type that we're most likely to see the spontaneous realization, as the hero at last understands that she is the only person who can save herself."

"Either singly or in pairs, come up with several other scenarios that are tailored to each coping method. How else can these types of heroes face a betrayal that would affect them deeply? What kind of betrayals did our heroes from last week's examples (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomhigh/2363010.html?thread=153993602#t153993602) undergo? Are there any examples from other works or your own life that you'd feel comfortable sharing and where did they fit in?"

Cindy slid off the desk, heading over to write on the chalkboard. Damn, she was going to go through a lot of chalk this semester. "The Order--The Call that the hero cannot refuse. It is often the basis of most movies about life in the army or at some kind of high-powered corporation. It's his job and a lot hangs on the line if he can't or won't answer it. At the very least, it will call his identity into question if he balks."

"The Challenge--this is A Call that the hero most certainly can refuse, he just chooses not to. Either a villain or rival has question his manhood or hurt his pride and he must react, or risk being seen less of a man. The hero's drive to succeed fuels his journey--he must win in order to avoid a shaming or other sanctions. This can be something negligible, like winning a hot rod race, or major, like rescuing his village or saving lives."

"The Call of the Ego--this is much the same as the Challenge, save it is internally motivated, not externally. The hero himself has come up with this call. It may be little more than ego-boosting, like a desire to win a race or climb a mountain, but it may also stem from a feeling of duty or honor. He may feel he's the only person capable of fulfilling a duty or making something right."

"Either singly or in pairs, come up with characters you'd classify as being on the masculine journey. How would you characterize The Call they receive? Have any of you undergone experiences like this?"

They get the fun duty of erasing the chalkboards when Cindy's done with them.

She's busy glaring at the chalkstains on her hands.

OH MY GOD, COULD I WRITE ANY MORE?!?!

(The sad and secret answer is yes. It probably wasn't much of a secret.)

Jo Harvelle

Arthur Pendragon

Angela Montenegro

Angela Martin

Gabrielle

Tara Maclay

Gabrielle had her chin propped up on one hand and a halfway unfocused look on her face as she took notes and told herself in no uncertain terms that yes, if you looked at it from the wedding night on, you could make a clear case for hers being the feminine journey what with betrayal and shattered illusions and all, but absolutely not, no, she was not redefining her own journey's starting point. That was when Xena showed up in Poteidaia, and she refused to think of it any other way.

Claire Bennet

The whole 'shattering illusions' thing made Claire realize her journey was definitely more feminine.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Well now Firekeeper was even less sure where her own journey fell. The realization that had started it had been a painful one, to be sure, but it had come alongside the insistence that she then go out and learn about the world of the Two-legs.

Firekeeper was here, and beginning to give that whole 'learning to read' thing some serious thought again.

Dru Anderson

Robin

Robin giggled at Cindy's portrayal of 'the Call'. He could see in his mind any number of scenes from movies and tv of that call.

Robin wasn't here last week, so he tried to figure this out from the first example that popped into his head; the princess in 'The Enchanted Frog'. The special his uncle had produced that Robin had been in.

He thought maybe her journey had actually begun before the story started. Her illusion had been shattered in the exposition that Kermit had delivered. She was a Fairy Tale heroine, no doubt about that. Her male protector, her father had turned out to be an idiot, and then that curse had been placed on her.

Still going with 'The Enchanted Frog', Robin pondered his own role. Or, the character he had played. Half played. A human had played him in flashbacks and at the very end.

He guessed that it was likely the Call of the Ego. He literally sang his own praises in that story. Sure people might actually have called him Sir Robin the Brave, but he didn't know that anyone had actually asked him to prove himself worthy of the name. He'd gone off on his own to fight monsters.

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Monomyths [Tuesday, February 2, Period 3]

Sign in #5

Listen to the Lecture

Literary Context!

Activity #1--The Feminine Journey

Activity #2--The Masculine Journey

Talk to the TAs

Talk to "Professor Perrault"

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