I'll admit, I hadn't heard of the Heroine's Journey until last year--shame on me, I know.
But until I saw a mention of this from another author, I had no idea there was a counter-journey to Campbell's Hero's Journey, and that there are several of them, in fact.
I also think they're worth mentioning here because as stories continue to evolve, we're going see more of a shift to these types of structures. My eyes have certainly opened to how dynamic story arcs can be, even if we are writing to a "circle" journey or formula.
Campbell's journey was referenced in a previous post, but I think it's important to mention here that a hero's journey is not just limited to a male protagonist, and that the heroine's journey is not limited to the female. A male protagonist can follow the arc of a heroine's journey and vice versa.
There are several different types of heroine's journeys, and I'll address some of these in more detail in future posts, but since we've already outlined our hero's journey, it might be helpful to use this post as a springboard into the topic and discuss which aspects of our journeys overlap.
In both journeys, for instance, we begin in an ordinary world, a world our protagonist will be forced to leave. They will reject part of themselves in order to try to stay in this world and fit in with their surroundings. They will discover a new talent, skill, or gain some sort of knowledge. They will gather their allies and encounter enemies along the way. They will be tested to some degree. They will experience doubt in that they aren't sure they're cut out to complete their task, but despite this they will emerge victorious, returning to their world as transformed, self-actualized beings.
So the skeleton of the journeys are very similar, but we're going to find, I think, that the heroine's journeys focus more on self-worth and identity, while the hero's journey is geared more toward finding that treasure and bringing it home. The motivation is more external. They are both changed by the end, of course, but the heroine's journey is really more about the journey itself, whereas the hero's journey is centered around the end goal. The hero wins the prize. The heroine becomes whole.
And, again, both journeys apply to protagonists of either gender.
At any rate, I'm looking forward to diving into these heroine's journeys because I think we're going to see more elements of this kind of storytelling in the future.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
