Monomyths [Tuesday, February 9, Period 3]
Cindy started class with an announcement. "So, as your syllabi say, next week is your midterm. We'll be finishing up Act One of the heroic journey today, so you can probably guess what your midterm will be about. Let me remind you that I have office hours on Mondays and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about the material covered in class. Also, if you don't want to watch Wendy for your final, you have until next week to provide me with a suitable work of literature or media for me to okay instead. I suggest bringing in several different works in order to ensure there's something suitable for me to okay."
She glanced around before moving on, in case anyone had a question. "Okay, onto the last stage of Act One. For the feminine journey, this step is about preparing for the journey. The feminine hero has realized she has been betrayed and is ready to do something about it. Her coping method has failed her and she sees that her perfect world was nothing more than an illusion the entire time. So now she begins to prepare. This is the time where she says goodbye if her journey is a physical one and usually faces discouragement or ridicule as she goes. Also, she may gather together items she thinks she will need for the battle ahead: weapons, money, cosmetics, documents, data--anything she thinks will be helpful for her as she goes forward. The preparation makes her feel good about herself; she feels like she's girding herself for battle. There's only one problem--"
"None of this stuff will help her. In the end, the feminine hero needs to realize that it's her own intelligence, strength, determination, and abilities that will get her through whatever trials are coming. We'll see what happens to the preparations she makes when we discuss Act Two, but this step is important for the feminine hero because everything that she gathers needs to be taken away from her on her journey." Cindy gave her students a shrug and an apologetic smile. "It's safe to say, the feminine hero gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Nothing she acquires in this step can stay with her. Some authors even give the hero a mentor during this stage, one that won't have enough information or training for her. It's all part of the larger lesson: the feminine hero must learn to rely on herself instead of outside factors like other people or possessions."
"But before you start thinking it's all bad here, this is also when we start seeing the feminine hero's own resolve. She decides to leave, to pack, to rebel, to escape. She is no longer passive and waiting--she has taken charge of her own destiny. Granted, she makes mistakes in this step, but the important thing to remember is this is when the hero finally realizes there's more to this world than just what she's seen so far. This is a really important moment in her emotional make up--it's the beginning of agency."
Agency. What a lovely word. Not that Cindy had time to dwell on it. She was too busy moving onto the last stage of the masculine journey. "Of course, the obvious contrast to this is the final stage of the masculine journey, which is basically when a friend or an enemy comes on the scene, encouraging the masculine hero to accept the Call. If they are allies, they may stay with the hero throughout the entirety of his journey. These characters provide assistance and information to the hero; offering him guidance or even just friendship. If the masculine hero is leaving his home town, often people will gather around him, wishing him luck and providing him with supplies as he makes his way."
"Again, this is related to the long-held view of what a man's place is in the world and what a woman's place is," Cindy explained, as a review for the students from earth and as an explanation for those who were from other places and times. "It is much more acceptable--even considered laudable--for a man to leave home and seek his fortune, or even just adventure. For centuries, a woman's place was considered to be in the home; she was the property of her father and then her husband. Her job was to produce and tend children and keep the home tidy. For her to leave was considered a distortion of the proper way of things. A lot of that has changed, but vestiges of that old belief still linger on."
[Please to be waiting for OCD up! Sorry for the delay--my power cord had gotten pulled out without me noticing till it was too late.]
She glanced around before moving on, in case anyone had a question. "Okay, onto the last stage of Act One. For the feminine journey, this step is about preparing for the journey. The feminine hero has realized she has been betrayed and is ready to do something about it. Her coping method has failed her and she sees that her perfect world was nothing more than an illusion the entire time. So now she begins to prepare. This is the time where she says goodbye if her journey is a physical one and usually faces discouragement or ridicule as she goes. Also, she may gather together items she thinks she will need for the battle ahead: weapons, money, cosmetics, documents, data--anything she thinks will be helpful for her as she goes forward. The preparation makes her feel good about herself; she feels like she's girding herself for battle. There's only one problem--"
"None of this stuff will help her. In the end, the feminine hero needs to realize that it's her own intelligence, strength, determination, and abilities that will get her through whatever trials are coming. We'll see what happens to the preparations she makes when we discuss Act Two, but this step is important for the feminine hero because everything that she gathers needs to be taken away from her on her journey." Cindy gave her students a shrug and an apologetic smile. "It's safe to say, the feminine hero gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Nothing she acquires in this step can stay with her. Some authors even give the hero a mentor during this stage, one that won't have enough information or training for her. It's all part of the larger lesson: the feminine hero must learn to rely on herself instead of outside factors like other people or possessions."
"But before you start thinking it's all bad here, this is also when we start seeing the feminine hero's own resolve. She decides to leave, to pack, to rebel, to escape. She is no longer passive and waiting--she has taken charge of her own destiny. Granted, she makes mistakes in this step, but the important thing to remember is this is when the hero finally realizes there's more to this world than just what she's seen so far. This is a really important moment in her emotional make up--it's the beginning of agency."
Agency. What a lovely word. Not that Cindy had time to dwell on it. She was too busy moving onto the last stage of the masculine journey. "Of course, the obvious contrast to this is the final stage of the masculine journey, which is basically when a friend or an enemy comes on the scene, encouraging the masculine hero to accept the Call. If they are allies, they may stay with the hero throughout the entirety of his journey. These characters provide assistance and information to the hero; offering him guidance or even just friendship. If the masculine hero is leaving his home town, often people will gather around him, wishing him luck and providing him with supplies as he makes his way."
"Again, this is related to the long-held view of what a man's place is in the world and what a woman's place is," Cindy explained, as a review for the students from earth and as an explanation for those who were from other places and times. "It is much more acceptable--even considered laudable--for a man to leave home and seek his fortune, or even just adventure. For centuries, a woman's place was considered to be in the home; she was the property of her father and then her husband. Her job was to produce and tend children and keep the home tidy. For her to leave was considered a distortion of the proper way of things. A lot of that has changed, but vestiges of that old belief still linger on."
[Please to be waiting for OCD up! Sorry for the delay--my power cord had gotten pulled out without me noticing till it was too late.]