The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell

Although essential reading for writers learning their craft, there’s definitely too much content here to set aside three weeks to review it properly — a thousand observations to think about.

The mythos really hits its stride about half way through and I particularly like the absurd offshoots such as the creation myth for women with flat noses (born in nuts which fell out of trees) and the clam mother’s reconciliation of a lost family with the father, who then barbecues and eats everybody for no apparent reason.

There’s an interesting observation that devils and tricksters in legends from around the world are always clowns who make stupid comedy errors, whereas heroes are deadly serious and boring. The hero makes something useful, then the daft brother tries to copy that and generates the opposite. According to Campbell, “a woman cannot be the hero of a legend because her role is to be the prize”. Oh… kay.

People associate this work with Star Wars, which has a story cycle based on the steps laid out within. The Last Jedi is said to be a departure from George Lucas’s vision but whoever said that hasn’t read as far as the final chapter of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, which is Luke Skywalker’s death scene and transcendence exactly, where his elemental force dissolves back into the fabric of the Universe.

It’s all a cycle, you see? There’s an oppressive status quo such as a dragon that’s been in the cave forever (which Freudians would say represents the overbearing father), then the new generation comes along, discovers strength, pits themselves against the status quo and defeats it, releasing its frozen energy back into life for regenerative purposes. The tragedy is that the victorious child then atrophies and becomes the next overbearing father.

Pages 339 to 416 are end notes, so don’t be put off by the book’s girth.