A Character’s Journey to Peace: The Monomyth

Enlightenment: the “full comprehension of a situation;” a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual understanding or a fundamentally changed consciousness… Source here.

In many stories, there is a lesson to be learnt, a challenge to be overcome and ultimately, enlightenment to be gained. When that happens, things will never be the same for that character again. It is the crowning glory of life, perhaps even guaranteeing you a cushy afterlife.

As it is the grand prize, enlightenment is naturally, a difficult thing to achieve. It takes luck, hard work, guidance and the patience of a saint. It is like trying to pin down a dust mote dancing in the light, or capture a tornado in a jam jar. What does it take to portray it in your fiction writing? Is it a concept which is way too big, too spiritual or too complex and time consuming to address?

If you have read the plot outline of the archetypal heroes journey (resources below), there is a stage where our hero (or main character), has to face their own fears. Sometimes that is their own mortality. This is where enlightenment can be discovered or destroyed. This point in time is the testing ground of strength: they can run; fail and cower; retry then win; or conquer outright with a strength they never knew they had. (Cue dramatic cinema music here.) This is a stage in the journey sometimes called “The Ordeal.” It is about transformation, rebirth and growth. The kind of turn-around enlightenment enables, cannot happen without ordeal. It is a major focal point which then gives the freedom to pursue a new way of thinking, behaving and being. They believe. They can. The struggle was worth it. There is inward peace. Good things can come from bad.

Luke Skywalker’s journey in Star Wars: A New Hope, is a frequently quoted example of this rite of passage. George Lucas followed the formula of the monomyth deliberately. He drew on archetypes for all his characters and worked the plot out to convey age-old symbols to a new audience. There are moments of futility, danger, hope and despair. It is very dramatic. However, in working with people in real life over the years, I have found that the path to maturity and freedom is often made up of many far less dramatic, smaller stages, which I call mini enlightenments. They are checkered by failures, disappointments and face-palm moments where you could have done better, but somehow, just missed the boat. But that’s how you get to success. You fall on your face repeatedly, then find peace and a way of getting through the day that is easier, simpler and more rewarding.

Image Copyright Lucasfilm Ltd.

I would break down the process of enlightenment even further. We tend to see it as a singular thing: an event hard won. From my experience with spirituality, there doesn’t seem to be one big enlightenment, one “eureka” moment which covers everything. It is a series of revelations that build you to be stronger and wiser, the further along your life’s journey you go.

We don’t all dual Dark Lords of the Sith, but we do dual fear and doubt. We don’t rescue princesses, but you may be the essential listening ear for a friend in need. If you have never read the heroes journey, I’d like to encourage you to read it, then bring it down to earth in simpler terms. If you are writing epic fantasy, it is most probably perfect as it is and no simplification is required. But are humans really like that?

Can one event or quest really change everything? You decide…

Original Source Embedded in Graphic

About the Heroes Journey

In 1949 the writer, Joseph Campell, described man’s path to enlightenment in his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” (Available through Amazon also.) He studied the great works of fiction and found a pattern which has been written into many timeless stories from all over the world. It involves distinct character roles and growth stages, starting from weakness and advancing towards being an transformed conquerer. The term used to describe this process is monomyth. I have seen a number of variations of the journey. For great information, please visit this site: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero’s_journey.htm

 This article is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2012. It may not be reproduced in any form, without my prior written permission.

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