LONG: HP and the Heros' Journeys

[Heather Moore]

No: HPFGUIDX 29935

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., monicawitt at m... wrote:
> 
> It reminds me of Joseph Campbell-type thinking. Harry is undergoing 
> the Hero's Journey. The significant thing about it, at least 
> to me, is that many of the things he learns and overcomes are the 
> sorts of things people in our ordinary world have to learn to deal 
> with, too, like death of loved ones, insecurities, discovering who we 
> are, conquering fears, valuing friendships... 
> 

  A few of us have been mentioning Campbell's Hero's Journey on the Snapefans list, as well. (Oh, stop scoffing, everyone! Some of do read Snapefans for the articles, you know!!) I think it could be argued that Severus is quietly and painfully mucking though a very dark (not Dark) and slogging version of the Journey himself, back there in the background. While Harry's Journey is a standard, outward one, Snape seems to be following a difficult, internal/spiritual one.

 Below is one breakdown major stages of the Hero's Journey. I can't find my _Thousand Faces_ at the moment, so I'm using the breakdown given in White Wolf's CHANGELING. (Yes, this is hardly a great repository of Literary Truth, but I bought it before actually reading the smarmy, "our audience is stupid and the non-gaming world sucks"-themed essays. They still have *some* useful material on Archetypes, despite their rather shallow analysis.) 

I had originally intended to map this out to the books, but on second thought I believe it would be more interesting to do that as a collaborative exercise, so I'll just tack in my commentary on the stages in brief.


  1. The Ordinary World - the protagonist in his/her natural state, secure in a sense of routine. Obviously, "ordinary" doesn't necessarily equate with "muggle" in this world. The sense of security in this stage, in turn, does not tautologically denote happiness or feelings of well-being.  

(For Hermione, this would clearly be her life at home with her Muggle parents, prior to receiving her letter. For all the wizard born, magickal schooling is routine, so Hogwarts itself *is* part of their Ordinary World. Even though Harry was raised with the Dursleys, I tend to put him in this latter category. No matter what Ollivander says about his destiny of "Great Things," he seems to be actually expecting to lead whatever passes for a "normal" life among wizards.) 

 2. The Call to Adventure -- in which the protagonist comes to understand that things are changing and they are no longer insulated against change.

Both Harry (all of PS/SS is devoted to this?) and Snape have passed this stage. I suspect that for Snape, this involved his first venturings into the world of Voldemort's supporters, perhaps following the school's refusal to punish Sirius Black.


  3. The Refusal of the Call -- in which the character scoffs at the idea of being capable of greatness, or would prefer not to get involved. This is not always a prominent element of hero stories. Indeed, Harry's case, this seems not to be a well-defined stage of events so much as a background skepticism throughout the first several books. My instinct is that Snape may have avoided this stage entirely.


  4. Meeting with the Mentor -- the mentor can take many forms, and usually imposes itself on the hero, rather than being sought out. It is the source which clarifies the hero's changed status. Dumbledore, Sirius, and Hagrid are Harry's main mentors, and in the sense that one of the functions of the mentor is to spur the hero to action, I would argue that Ron and Hermione are also mentors. I don't believe any of the other teachers quite fit here. 
   We don't have any information about who Snape's original Mentor was, but Dumbledore seems to partially fulfill that role now.

 5. Crossing the First Threshold -- the entrance into the Special World, when things get dangerous *at the level that they will remain for some time.*  Here they confront the Guardian so that they can continue. I'm torn whether this occurs in the first book (the most obvious interpretaton) or the fourth book (as Harry's final Mentor (Sirius) isn't in place until PoA). He isn't in direct danger until Voldemort's "reconstitution." It will be interesting to see where others stand on how this stage should be placed in the books. 
   For Snape, this is probably when he joined the Death Eaters.

 
  6. Tests, Allies, Enemies -- usually the longest stage.  Is Harry just entering it, or has he been here a while? 

   7. Approaching the Dark Heart -- at this stage, the hero believes he has all the pieces of the puzzle and understands his situation enough to shoulder the task at hand. Harry's Dark Heart is external - it's Voldemort. I don't believe we've seen this element yet. I believe that for Snape, this is the stage in which he decided to defect from the Death Eaters. His Dark Heart is internal, a more literal translation of the phrase.

  8. The Supreme Ordeal -- In this phase, the hero has had a very unsatisfactory confrontation with the Dark Heart and failed to destroy it. They are in danger of losing their nerve and their lives.  For Snape, I would regard this as the time period between his defection and Voldemort's disappearance, when only Dumbledore's willingness to trust him keeps him afloat. Snape's "confrontation" would have to have been symbolic.

 9.  The Reward --  Something vital which has been missing or suppressed comes to light, setting the hero back on track. This is usually a very quick incident.  I believe this is most likely going to be the "major revelation about Lily Potter" and may involve information from Neville Longbottom.   For Snape's journey, this would be when Voldemort disappeared and he avoided punishment as a former Death Eater, allowing him to properly return to the Wizarding community.

  10. The Road Back -- This is the resolution to the danger entered upon during the First Threshold. The protagonist has not won, but at this point, the Dark Heart is doomed to failure, whether it realizes it or not. This is often a return to the "one damn thing after another" style of Phase Six, but the protagonist consistently prevails.  Snape would appear to be stranded here; no wonder he's cranky.

  11. The Final Threshold  - in which the hero is threatened anews, purified, and defeats the Dark Heart.

  12. The Return = rewards, realizations.