Der Heros In Tausend Gestalten

Jan 14, 2013 Ned Rifle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Joseph Campbell has done a lot of good work in this book and others. Unfortunately the good of the work was research. His theories themselves (not so much the pattern-spotting as his rather shallow interpretation of the material, which is basically glorified self-help) are very easy to ignore. Read him to steal his stories and then regale your friends with them, much embellished, if need be; the beauty of these stories is that they speak directly. Also get as many of the books he references as y...more

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May 23, 2011 Bill Tucker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mythology-campbell, favorites

Read it. Read it and marvel.

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Mar 08, 2008 Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology, social-theory, religion, philosophy

We studied the Myth Cycle at Uni and I was interested enough to come back to this book years later and read the whole thing. It is well worth a read – an endlessly fascinating book by a fascinating man.

The idea is that there is basically only one story, the grand story of our lives, the monomyth. This story is told in millions of different ways, but ultimately every story ever told is either just a retelling of this grand story, or it is a re-telling of certain aspects of this more complete sto...more We studied the Myth Cycle at Uni and I was interested enough to come back to this book years later and read the whole thing. It is well worth a read – an endlessly fascinating book by a fascinating man.

The idea is that there is basically only one story, the grand story of our lives, the monomyth. This story is told in millions of different ways, but ultimately every story ever told is either just a retelling of this grand story, or it is a re-telling of certain aspects of this more complete story.

I read, probably about a decade ago now, that if you submit a screenplay to Disney for consideration they basically use the myth cycle to ‘judge’ the worthiness of your script. And they’ll say things like, “So, I wonta hear what you got to say, where’s the supernatural assistance from a female divine for gad sake – ay, where’s dat at?” Or however it is that Disney executives speak.

I fall somewhere further from that particular tree. I think the Myth Cycle is a fascinating idea, fascinating in the real sense that in fixates the mind once you begin contemplating it, and it is something I’m very glad I’ve heard about. But would I use it to structure every story I ever write? Well, no. Is it the touchstone I return to when appraising a work of fiction? Again, no. Like feminist criticism, Marxist criticism, Freudian criticism, Structuralist criticism, deconstructionalist criticism – this particular variety of Jungian criticism is good to know about, but any schema that seeks to encompass the whole of literature is only ever going to end up being a girdle. After a short while the constraints and pinching imposed on literature by the theory are sure to become too much to suffer and the restrictive garment needs to be taken off, if not cast aside. We may not be nearly as pretty or shapely with these garments off, but at least we can breath.

Ideas in the cycle like ‘the rejection of the call’ come into my mind constantly while reading or watching films – the rejection of the call to adventure is a cliché in so many texts – as it is in life. And that is the point, Campbell doesn’t see his ideas as being about interpreting literature, but that the interpreting of literature is a way to come to an understanding of our own lives – and that is something I wholeheartedly agree with. So, rather than take this work as the last word on the structure of stories and the monomyth and the possibilities of self-transcendence, this is a book that is better read as an introduction to thinking about literature as a way of coming to understand our own lives.

And what better task is there? And what surer guide than literature?
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Mar 30, 2008 Bracken rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: intellectual masochists

Shelves: book-club-books

I was very excited to read this work because of its potential to teach me a great deal about mythology, but found that it was a total piece of tripe. I felt like Campbell was trying too hard to prove his knowledge, which was apparent in the great diversity of myths referenced in the work, but he failed to logically plan the layout of the text. I can understand the overall layout of the text, but it didn't work on the chapter/section scale. It was so disorganized that I often felt like a member o...more

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Mar 25, 2007 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Page 156 “And there takes place, then, that dramatic divorce of the two principles of love and hate which the pages of history so beautifully illustrate. Instead of clearing his own heart the zealot tries to clear the world. The laws of the City of God are applied only to his in-group (tribe, church, nation, class, or what not) while the fire of a perpetual holy war is hurled (with good conscience, and indeed a sense of pious service) against whatever uncircumcised, barbarian, heathen, “native,”...more

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Apr 20, 2008 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow. This book blows my mind every time I pick it up. It has taken me years to heed the advice of friends and family and read the thing (don’t wait as long as I did), but I’ve finished with a renewed sense of what it means to be an artist/writer/human and a perceived momentum I’ve found nowhere else. There is energy, wisdom and strength in the connections Campbell draws.

I’ve also placed myself firmly in the Campbell camp of dissecting story structure (suck it Robert Mckee, or better yet eat all...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Lucas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first read this book when I was 19. It saved both my step-father's ass and my soul.

I have always been a fan of mythology and folklore, and Joseph Campbell pulls tales from many cultures to show how mankind has virtually the same heroic journey tucked away in its subconscious regardless of culture or even time. He also explains the importance of myths, which is something lots of people can't grasp because they can't get over the fact the stories aren't real. Myths were never meant to be facts a...more I first read this book when I was 19. It saved both my step-father's ass and my soul.

I have always been a fan of mythology and folklore, and Joseph Campbell pulls tales from many cultures to show how mankind has virtually the same heroic journey tucked away in its subconscious regardless of culture or even time. He also explains the importance of myths, which is something lots of people can't grasp because they can't get over the fact the stories aren't real. Myths were never meant to be facts and would lose their significance if they were. They are meant to be sources of inspiration that a person of flesh can turn to in order to face a harsh reality with courage.

Here's how this book saved a soul and an ass. There's a chapter that at first made no sense to me called "The Hero as Emperor and as Tyrant." My problem with the chapter was that heroes aren't tyrants; they slay tyrants! Shortly after reading this my drunken violent step-father got out of line with me.

I had pushed back against my step-father for years, but suddenly this fight went very different. There was a point where we both realized that if I kept fighting it would be a massacre. He retreated, and I wanted to give chase. I wanted to make him pay for the tiny child he terrorized for years (and that kid's sister too). Then the chapter suddenly made sense. So I beat him to a pulp, then what? Is violence now my new answer to everything? Perhaps I could figure out an appropriate line to draw where I would turn away from reason and towards force....maybe. The more I thought about it, the more It seemed like I would only end up supplanting one monster with a bigger stronger one.

I then realized that if I was going to prove my true strength, I would have to abandon the easy (and probably satisfying) task of crushing my step-father and instead take on the more daunting task or conquering my own rage. So I let him get away, though I did spend the next six months shooting him looks that made him clear out of my vicinity.

I seem to have a weird kind of luck in that I often end up reading the book I need at the time I need it, and this is a perfect example. But personal anecdotes aside, I found the entire book enjoyable(less)

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Mar 29, 2013 David Melbie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: heroes, seekers

Recommended to David by: Bill Moyers

The best! Ask George Lucas!
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This marks my third reading of this work, and I am quite sure that I absorbed the text much better this time around that I did on the other two readings.

This edition (2004) also has a new introduction by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run With Wolves, in which she concludes:

"Reader, turn the page now. Joseph Campbell is waiting for you, and as usual, the professor is in full mythic voice. . . . (p xv). --From A Reader's Jour...more

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Jun 14, 2010 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, to-read-again, extremely-fond-of

This is an important book that I will hold onto and attempt to reread in the future when I may have more knowledge under my belt regarding history, philosophy, and mythology. I think that solid knowledge in these areas is important as an anchor of understanding when reading a book with such broad scope or transcendental type thinking. As much as I respect Joseph Campbell, he did not effectively anchor together the information and present it in a way that will stick with me. I felt like I was see...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Moses Kilolo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Every one who believes in destiny, in dreams, and in the universality of human experience and their particular stories should, at least once in their lifetime, read this book.

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Jan 08, 2013 Amey Nadkarni rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book after finding its mention on almost all the "recommended lists" for writers and film makers. Eager and excited as i began reading the book, i found it difficult to put it down...
But unlike most other books on my shelf here, i could not put it down not because it was so interesting but because i just could not get through it and every time i kept it down it took me a good 5 page re-reading to connect the link!!!!

Blame it on- my inability, the writers complexity or simply the...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Otariiman's Rants rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A bit dry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if that's what you were looking for and/or expecting. If you've read the inspiration to this book (and to a certain extent Joesph Campbell himself) "The Golden Bough" by James Frazer, then you'll know exactly what to expect.

Personally, I was expecting more Jungian interpretation and less cataloging of various myths throughout history. But that's due to my own preconceived ideas about what the book would be like and it's not really Joseph Campbell's...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Stephen R. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Joseph Campbell comes to mythology as a genuine scholar and he was nothing short of a genius in picking out the essential threads of a story and relating them back to other mythologies. This was his special gift and what made him such a strong modern voice for myth and archetypes across cultures.

In relating one story of the ancient Greek rite of passage mystery, one member of his audience voiced the lament that we don't have a modern equivalent. Campbell wisely responded this was nonsense, for...more

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Jul 17, 2012 J.R. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my lame attempt at reviewing this masterful work, a copy and paste of another review which works fine enough for me:
Joseph Campbell's classic cross-cultural study of the hero's journey has inspired millions and opened up new areas of research and exploration. Originally published in 1949, the book hit the New York Times best-seller list in 1988 when it became the subject of The Power of Myth, a PBS television special. The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insi...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Isadora Wagner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myth, writers

This book remains one of my favorite go-to sources for the arc of the hero in myth and life. I recently reread parts of Chapter I (Departure: The Crossing of the First Threshold; Belly of the Whale) and Chapter III (The Return: The Refusal of the Return; Rescue from Without; Crossing of the Return Threshold) to goad myself out of my present lethargy in Middle of Wisconsin, USA, both off the page and on. Despite the fact that Neil Gaiman refused to read this book after p. 50 because he found it r...more This book remains one of my favorite go-to sources for the arc of the hero in myth and life. I recently reread parts of Chapter I (Departure: The Crossing of the First Threshold; Belly of the Whale) and Chapter III (The Return: The Refusal of the Return; Rescue from Without; Crossing of the Return Threshold) to goad myself out of my present lethargy in Middle of Wisconsin, USA, both off the page and on. Despite the fact that Neil Gaiman refused to read this book after p. 50 because he found it revealed too much about the monomyth behind all myths and the stories we tell ourselves, or maybe because of it, this book has seen a resurgence among writers today. I have to say I highly recommend it to writers for this reason. It's excellent. I don't think it gets in the way of creativity at all; if anything, it provides a structure for understanding life, fiction and myth in a way that no other book I have found does. I find myself particularly thinking about The Refusal of the Return and the Belly of the Whale often. What if we all do have a mountain to climb, or a dragon to slay, or an impossible quest to complete, and the sad, true reality of life for most is that they refuse to take up these duties? This book is wise on both sides: it speaks cogently and truly to the incredible boon awaiting those who do, and the grievous slip into failure that finds those who do not. An excellent book for deconstructing fable-like stories and quest movies, such as "The Never-Ending Story," "Labyrinth," "Princess Bride," "The True Story of Hansel and Gretel," and the Tolkien series, as well as Gaiman's own work. Equally, it would be interesting to apply Campbell's theories of the arc of the hero and the perils of action and inaction to the horror and gothic genres. Truly, of the books for (non-realist fiction) writers that I have read and recommended, I would put this one, Todorov's "The Fantastic," Heidegger's, "Poetry, Language, Thought," and Georg Lukacs' "The Theory of the Novel," at the top of the list: most helpful ever!(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Nicholas Whyte rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1811366...

I have to say that I was rather disappointed by this classic work on mythology. On the plus side, it is indeed fascinating to put myths from very different points in time and space beside each other to note the similarities; Campbell is consistent and clinical in subjecting the Bible to the same scrutiny as any other culture; and for myself, I learned a thing or two about Cuchulain, not just a local hero and contributor to Ulster geography but in fact an e...more

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Jul 24, 2011 John E. Branch Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

A serious attempt at this point to describe and evaluate Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, which was first published in 1949 and is now almost a part of our intellectual furniture, seems not only difficult but also unnecessary. A few words in summary, followed by some personal reactions, may do.

As many people know, whether or not they've read it, this is the book in which Campbell draws on aspects of psychology, particularly the idea of archetypes, to survey worldwide myths. What he...more A serious attempt at this point to describe and evaluate Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, which was first published in 1949 and is now almost a part of our intellectual furniture, seems not only difficult but also unnecessary. A few words in summary, followed by some personal reactions, may do.

As many people know, whether or not they've read it, this is the book in which Campbell draws on aspects of psychology, particularly the idea of archetypes, to survey worldwide myths. What he finds is still rather astounding. To quote an admirably concise treatment of the book on a Star Wars website (see http://www.moongadget.com/origins/myt...), "Campbell eloquently demonstrates that all stories are expressions of the same story-pattern, which he named the 'Hero's Journey,' or the 'monomyth.'" The stories in question are not only those we customarily think of as myth but also those of religion, a useful corrective to those who have forgotten that Greek mythology, for instance, was an expression of Greek religion. In fact, though Campbell doesn't exactly say so as I recall, his survey reminds us that much of our knowledge and belief is cast in the form of stories. (Human intelligence seems to find something fundamentally useful in narratives; an AI researcher once wrote that he'll believe a computer can think when he hears one say, "That reminds me of a story.") The Hero's Journey that Campbell finds is marked by clear stages and definite features, though not all of them are to be found in all the myths he treats; they include an initial call, the crossing of a threshold, a temptation, a boon acquired by the hero, and various elements of a return and final triumph.

A present-day reader such as myself, having absorbed something of Campbell's point of view as part of the intellectual atmosphere without having read this book, will find much to marvel at, among which is the immense range of Campbell's reading and recollection, which can call on Amerindian and African myths and elements of the vast Hindu and Buddhist literature as easily as more familiar Hellenic and Judeo-Christian material. Such a reader may also, however, have one or two qualms about matters of detail.

For one, Campbell seems too fond of footnotes. Surely some of the attributions could been dispatched to endnotes or simply included in the text. One should not need constantly to interrupt one's reading to find out whether he's merely citing a source or making a substantive addition to his text. Among the substantive notes, one can usually tell quickly whether one wants to pursue it (which sometimes leads onto the next page) or ignore it. But one positively made me laugh: when he made a simple mention of "the categories of human thought" and footnoted it by referring to an entire book of Kant's, the Critique of Pure Reason. If the concept isn't clear enough by itself, either a simple explanation will do, or else the reader will need to be tutored in more than just Kant.

Another problem: there are many myths that participate little if at all in the grand scheme Campbell outlines. (My recollection of the myths recounted by Claude Lévi-Strauss in his Mythologiques tells me that many are hard to view from Campbell's perspective.) A reader made skeptical by realizing this will wade through most of the book before finding the dilemma resolved. Finally, on page 382 of his 391-page text, Campbell declares, "Mythology has been interpreted by the modern intellect as a primitive, fumbling effort to explain the world of nature (Frazer); as a production of poetical fantasy from prehistoric times, misunderstood by succeeding ages (Müller); as a repository of allegorical instruction, to shape the individual to his group (Durkheim); as a group dream, symptomatic of archetypal urges within the depths of the human psyche (Jung); as the traditional vehicle of man's profoundest metaphysical insights (Coomaraswamy); and as God's revelation to His children (the Church). Mythology is all of these." The explanation for the omissions, for those myths that don't fit his scheme, is basically that Campbell isn't interested in them, precisely because they don't fit. He inclines often to Coomaraswamy's viewpoint (he's convinced enough of the value of myth's insights that his book's tone is oddly suggestive of an early and very erudite self-help book), he could have done nothing without Jung, and he makes a potent argument against some developments in Christian theology. For the rest—the other kinds of myth and other approaches, especially those of Frazer and much of the sociological school—one will have to look elsewhere.

My final concern has to do with the book's uses. The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a feast, but writers should be wary of taking it as a buffet line and adding to their story one of each from the components that Campbell outlines. If your story is lacking something, it may be a fundamental connection with humanity (which George Lucas seemed to forget as his Star Wars films progressed) or a kind of shapeliness (which the Wakowski brothers lost after their first Matrix film). One will find much of both in the myths Campbell recounts; why should humanity and proportion be the last things writers take away from his book?(less)

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Jul 21, 2011 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: landmark-books, storytelling, literary-theory, mythology, psychology

One of the most important books of the 20th century, Campbell's breakout text transformed the word myth from denoting something antique, primitive, and false into one signifying those stories and images that express the deepest and strongest forces that underlie our lives today, as they always have done and always will.

I first heard the name of Joseph Campbell in 1979, during my three-month flirtation with university education at UBC. My English prof was a passionate enthusiast of Campbell, and...more One of the most important books of the 20th century, Campbell's breakout text transformed the word myth from denoting something antique, primitive, and false into one signifying those stories and images that express the deepest and strongest forces that underlie our lives today, as they always have done and always will.

I first heard the name of Joseph Campbell in 1979, during my three-month flirtation with university education at UBC. My English prof was a passionate enthusiast of Campbell, and did his best to get his students to attend a lecture that Campbell was giving on campus (I believe the topic was Dracula). I never went (drat!), but I see from my disintegrating copy of the Bollingen edition of The Hero with a Thousand Faces that I bought it in December that year, which proves that Dr. Whitehead did eventually get through to me. Thank heavens he did.

I've read the book four or five times, and my copy is heavily highlighted. As I flip through it now I see it's time to read it again. Oh boy!

Drawing on a knowledge of world mythology, religion, art, and symbolism that was already vast (the book was published in 1949, when Campbell was just 45), Campbell, choosing the word monomyth from Joyce's Finnegans Wake as his master term, sets out to explicate the archetypal adventure of the hero. He shows how all hero stories follow the same basic template, that of the rite of passage: separation, initiation, and return. Campbell summarizes the template in one sentence of his prologue:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

Campbell goes on to illustrate this template with episodes from world mythology: Greek, Egyptian, Arabian, Indian, European, and many others, including the stories of the Buddha and Jesus. This latter point is important, for one of the great strengths of Campbell's work is in how he shows that myth is the force behind those texts and rites that we regard as sacred, as well as the force driving our own individual psychology. For myth is not merely a matter of inventing stories for amusement; it is the structuring, organizing force by which we understand our world. Myth arises from the same mysterious source from which our dreams come; myth, indeed, is a kind of public dream.

Campbell's writing is forceful, self-assured, and compendious. He writes with passion and with humor, and his prose is excellent. Well thought out, deeply researched, and concise, this work is the furthest thing imaginable from a dry, scholarly text. He manages to combine intellectual detachment with a sense of urgency and love of the topic.

In this book is laid the groundwork for Campbell's future works, notably his Masks of God series, in which these themes are developed in greater depth. Here he introduces the idea that myth is not something "out there," but rather the organizing principle of our lives both individually and collectively. By understanding it we can take hold of our own destiny and live more consciously, more spiritually, more adventurously. In a word, more fully.

Myth is everyone's business, and this book reintroduces us to that part of ourselves which is most alive. We are heroes, each of us; let us not refuse the call to adventure when it arrives.(less)

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Jun 18, 2009 Oakshaman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Book with a capital "B."

First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since I have been given the chance, all I can say is that this is one of the greatest Books (with a capital "B") of my experience. I suspect that it shall be recognised as one of the single greatest products to come out of 20th century American letters.

No, I'm not setting Campbell up as a prophet or anything like that, indeed, I suspect that this book's greatness lies in the eternal truths that trans...more A Book with a capital "B."

First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since I have been given the chance, all I can say is that this is one of the greatest Books (with a capital "B") of my experience. I suspect that it shall be recognised as one of the single greatest products to come out of 20th century American letters.

No, I'm not setting Campbell up as a prophet or anything like that, indeed, I suspect that this book's greatness lies in the eternal truths that transcend Campbell's individual personality. He just managed to tap into them- thank God.

The entire book deals with the hero's journey. This is the Monomyth shared by all cultures- and indeed seems to be a direct inspiration from the cosmos itself by way of the collective unconscious. Here we have the eternal cycle of 1) the call to adventure; 2) the crossing of the threshold; 3) the tests, trials, and helpers; 4) the sacred marriage, apotheosis (becoming one with god), or elixir theft; 5)the flight 6) recrossing/ressurection; and 7) the return to society with hard won gifts. He examines all of these elements in depth with a wealth of cross-cultural examples. The first half of the book deals with this cycle on a more individual and personal level (the microcosm), while the second half deals with the greater cosmogonic importance (the macrocosm.)

Now, the really amazing part of all this is that virtually all of it comes across as meaningful, interesting, and totally nonacademic. That's why academic types hate Campbell, and his mentor Jung,- they know that Campbell's and Jung's works will endure and be read a thousand years from now, while their own monographs will be justly forgotten. There are a lot of mediocre Ph.D's out there that can never forget that Campbell never bothered to get a doctorate, because he considered such degrees to be a worthless and meaningless waste of time....

I've read this particular edition three times now- it is well designed and manufactured and has resonable sized print. I've also listened to the entire audio version at least twice- it is well edited and it is very difficult to figure out where exactly it is abridged. (less)

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Apr 18, 2009 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religion

The image of man within is not to be confounded with the garments. We think of ourselves as Americans, children of the twentieth century, occidentals, civilized Christians. We are virtuous or sinful. Yet such designations do not tell what it is to be man, they denote only the accidents of geography, birth-date, and income. What is the core of us? What is the basic character of our being?

The asceticism of the medieval saints and of the yogis of India, the Hellenistic mystery initiations, the an...more The image of man within is not to be confounded with the garments. We think of ourselves as Americans, children of the twentieth century, occidentals, civilized Christians. We are virtuous or sinful. Yet such designations do not tell what it is to be man, they denote only the accidents of geography, birth-date, and income. What is the core of us? What is the basic character of our being?

The asceticism of the medieval saints and of the yogis of India, the Hellenistic mystery initiations, the ancient philosophies of the East and of the West, are techniques for the shifting of the emphasis of individual consciousness away from the garments. The preliminary meditations of the aspirant detach his mind and sentiments from the accidents of life and drive him to the core. “I am not that, not that,” he meditates: “not my mother or son who has just died; my body, which is ill or aging; my arm, my eye, my head; not the summation of all these things. I am not my feeling; not my mind; not my power of intuition.” By such meditations he is driven to his own profundity and breaks through, at last, to unfathomable realizations. No man can return from such exercises and take very seriously himself as Mr. So-and-so of Such-and-such a township, U.S.A. Society and duties drop away. Mr. So-and-so, having discovered himself big with man, becomes indrawn and aloof…

The aim is not to see, but to realize that one is, that essence; then one is free to wander as that essence in the world. Furthermore: the world too is of that essence. The essence of oneself and the essence of the world: these two are one. Hence separateness, withdrawal, is no longer necessary. Wherever the hero may wander, whatever he may do, he is ever in the presence of his own essence—for he has the perfected eye to see. There is no separateness. Thus, just as the way of social participation may lead in the end to a realization of the All in the individual, so that of exile brings the hero to the Self in all.

Centered in this hub-point, the question of selfishness or altruism disappears. The individual has lost himself in the law and been reborn in identity with the whole meaning of the universe. For Him, by Him, the world was made.(less)

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Apr 12, 2009 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 11th-grade

Joseph Campbell wrote an amazing book about the human journey. He describes the process of a “hero” and the challenges and obstacles that they go through everyday in order to become that person that they want to be. Campbell uses examples from various myths, legends, history and our present society to confirm his theory. Every human is a hero and their identity is shaped through the events they go through and people who they come across. It is only through this journey that we find out who we r...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: smart-stuff

This text is one of those often-quoted, seldom read old classics. It irks many, inspires some, and baffles most. I found myself irked, inspired and baffled on nearly every page. Still, I’m very glad I finally read it—-Campbell’s ideas have re-animated my reading and thinking. Problematic, definitely, but also illuminating.

The irksome and baffling bits first: Campbell cherrypicks what myths to include in his analysis. He chooses his evidence to create a really elegant Copernican universe, with hi...more This text is one of those often-quoted, seldom read old classics. It irks many, inspires some, and baffles most. I found myself irked, inspired and baffled on nearly every page. Still, I’m very glad I finally read it—-Campbell’s ideas have re-animated my reading and thinking. Problematic, definitely, but also illuminating.

The irksome and baffling bits first: Campbell cherrypicks what myths to include in his analysis. He chooses his evidence to create a really elegant Copernican universe, with his Monomyth theory unchallenged at the center. He doesn’t include what he calls “underdeveloped or degenerate” folk mythologies from “truly primitive” people (289) in his analysis—so that excuses him from ignoring all the myriad myths that would send the monomyth careening off of its strait and narrow path. And he preaches dependence on the iconography of the “inspired past” (249). So… universal truth that springs naturally from the collective unconscious of every human was only able to create meaning in the distant past? Silly. Also, this monomyth is by boys and for boys. “The woman is life, the hero its knower and master” (120). Campbell grudgingly says that the hero journey is a human journey, but relies on misogynistic Fruedian and Jungian descriptions of the male and female lifecycles to build his archetypes—-the steppingstones along the hero’s path. The “universal story” of the hero journey is a man’s journey.

Sometimes his evidence seems randomly generated-—myths and folktales and parables and—-strangest of all—-transcripts of modern dreams—thrown together in a stew, with a breathless Ta-DAA! As if their meaningful unity was obvious. (This habit reminded me of my mom’s parody of Marxist literary criticism—-she made a Dr. Suess-esque cartoon machine, that gobbled up any old story and spat out pat little Marxist formulas.) If you grind the carcass up enough, it all looks like hamburger in the end. Hero hamburger.

For much of this book my eyebrow was firmly up. Especially when the Christian myth became the dominant one in his evidence for a universal truth. I thought I had him pegged as a devout Christian, finding evidence in myth for The One True Religion. His Christian and Western reading of world myths continues right up to the apex of his Hero pattern, then he surprisingly announces that Christianity has forgotten the true end of the journey. Here he switches to Siddhartha as his hero. After the crisis, the quest, the redemption, the hero discovers that the face of God is his own—-beyond the light is the void, and God is not a destination but an indicator of a greater, wordless, and inner meaning.

And here we come to the inspiring bits. In spite of all the outdated, anti-female, Western myopic nonsense, Campbell is a natural dreamer. This book just isn’t an academic study. It’s a lambish meditation on the meaning of life in academic wolf clothing. Campbell has been inspired by the myths he’s read, and tries to illuminate the beauty and the Capital T Truth he’s encountered. I’ll let him speak for himself:

45—The hardness [of mythology:] is balanced by an assurance that all we see is but the reflex of a power than endures, untouched by the pain.

93—The hero whose attachment to ego is already annihilate passes back and forth across the horizons of the world, in and out of the dragon, as readily as a king through all the rooms of his house. And therein lies his power to save; for his passing and retuning demonstrate that through all the contraries of phenomenality the Uncreate-Imperishable remains, and there is nothing to fear.

121—The whole sense of the ubiquitous myth of the hero’s passage is that it shall serve as a general pattern for men and women, wherever they may stand along the scale. Therefore it is formulated in the broadest terms. The individual has only to discover his own position with reference to this general human formula, and let it then assist him past his restricting walls.

146—The living waters are the tears of God... In full awareness of the life anguish of the creatures in his hand, in full consciousness of the roaring wilderness of pains, the brains-splitting fires of the deluded, self-ravaging, lustful, angry universe of his creation, this divinity acquiesces in the deed of supplying life to life. To withhold the seminal waters would be to annihilate; yet to give them forth is to create this world that we know… In his mercy, in his love for the forms of time, this demiurgic man of men yields countenance to the sea of pangs; but in his full awareness of what he is doing, the seminal waters of the life that he gives are the tears of his eyes.

158-159—The good news, which the World Redeemer brings and which so many have been glad to hear, zealous to preach, but reluctant, apparently, to demonstrate, is that God is love, that He can be, and is to be, loved, and that all without exception are his children.

162—If the God is a tribal, racial, national, or sectarian archetype, we are the warriors of his cause; but if he is a lord of the universe itself, then we go forth as knowers to whom all men are brothers.

288—From the perspective of the source, the world is a majestic harmony of forms pouring into being, exploding, and dissolving. But what the swiftly passing creatures experience is a terrible cacophony of battle cries and pain. The myths do not deny this agony (the crucifixion); they reveal within, behind, and around it essential peace (the heavenly rose).
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Feb 22, 2013 Autumn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spirituality, philosophy, culture

This has been on my "to read" list forever, and I finally picked it up at the library after weeks of book-malaise.

An interesting look at mythological archetypes, the table of contents alone presents a wonderful set-up for writing our own stories that fit within the cosmological "journeys" set out by so many philosophical protagonists we read about in historical tomes.

The entire read was worth the last chapter, where Campbell gives a wonderful argument on knowing the essence of self. I generally...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having always been a fan of mythology and hero quests, I've wanted to read this for a long time. I wasn't disappointed. Campbell introduces the reader to myths and legends from not only the well known Greek and Norse, but from the Native Americans, Africa, Scotland...almost everywhere. Campbell also revisits many of the characters who's stories he tells, detailing their further adventures while showing that all over the world, throughout time, our stories have been the same tale, with only the d...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spirituality, philosophy

I was always raised to believe that the stories of the Bible aren't just fanciful allegories or metaphors but that they are actual accounts of events that took place long ago, and which can help us to learn about the interplay between God and His followers. Joseph Campbell, on the other hand, sees the stories of the Bible and all other spiritual texts for that matter as allegory. This is where our perspective differs. Nevertheless, I see great value in his insights in general.

Campbell has a gift...more

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Dec 13, 2008 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anthropology-primatology, mythologyandreligion

Many people cite it, but few have actually read this compelling dissection of human hero stories. Campbell discovers a universal framework he calls the Monomyth (often referred to as The Hero's Journey), which is the general pattern of adventures that mythological heroes encounter during their quests. It's a cyclical pattern inspired in part by the ancient ouroborus symbol (a snake eating its own tale) representing the cyclical pattern of nature, as well as the necessity of life living off other...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Brad McKenna rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book joins Atlas Shrugged as the only books I've ever had to put down.

I love mythology. The myths are not only grand examples of storytelling, but they also shed light on their civilizations' way of thinking. From the doomed-to-die Norse Gods to the plagiarist Romans simply renaming Greek Gods, the mythologies across the globe are fascinating on many levels. So a book that traces the similarities between all mythological cannons sounds like a stroke of genius. Too bad Freud's psychoanalyti...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Jake Kocorowski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: screenwriters, lovers of myths

Dense book. Very Dense with information, but relatively easy to understand if you know a little bit about psychoanalysis (Thanks Psych 202!) and you enjoy myth stories and character development.

Started reading it as I'm an inspiring screenwriter (wow, haven't we heard that all), and I've heard of many successful screenwriters (George Lucas and The King's Speech's David Seidler as key examples) who have taken Campbell's "Hero's Journey" to heart in their work.

The "Hero's Journey" aspect of the bo...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Julie Ambrose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of structuralism's pearls: the breadth of scholarship in this work is stupendous. Campbell researches the gamut of myths about the globe in order to produce a persuasive, fascinating account of the (generally masculine) hero in culture and time. Not easily dismissed even in a poststructuralist world, The Hero With A Thousand Faces makes timeless reading.

It's no wonder Joseph Campbell has gone on to become one of the founding gurus of screenwriting: even as heroic journeys reflect rites of pa...more

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May 31, 2011 Chuck O'Connor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first half of this book and it's epilogue are excellent resources into understanding how the mythic narrative has psychological efficacy and therefore story power but the second half of the book seems as if Mr. Campbell forgot to explain his theory and instead simply chose to relate various world myths as illustration of his thesis. They read like an obsessive's fascination with granularity and the myths lack power due to an underdeveloped narrative context (a damning observance within an ac...more

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