The Hero's Journey: Refusal of the Call
There are other examples from Xena's life as well. In fact, looking back on her past we learn that much of her life was a continuing refusal of the call. In "The Debt" (X52 & 53) we learn that Lao Ma made an offer to Xena, trying to turn her anger and fighting prowess to the cause of justice. Xena refused this call as well, remaining interested in her own personal goals.
In "Destiny" (X36) we learn how Xena, interested only in protecting her home village of Amphipolis, was betrayed and nearly killed by Caesar. When the Roman soldiers kill M'Lila in Niklio's hut in the mountains, Xena goes into a murderous rage. After finishing off the soldiers she swears, "a new Xena is born tonight, with a new purpose in life - death."
Moments before the soldiers arrived, it appears as though Xena is about to turn from her conquering ways because of M'Lila's influence (indeed, this can be seen as yet another call to adventure). But the call goes unanswered and the results - especially in the long run - result in a life that strongly resembles the description provided by Campbell. Xena's world becomes a wasteland of death, and Xena's chosen path (as she reminds Gabrielle time and again) leads to destruction.
Fortunately, all is not lost when the call goes unanswered. As Campbell states, "some of the victims remain spellbound forever, but others are destined to be saved.... The sole problem is what the machinery of the miracle is to be." (Campbell, pgs. 63 and 68) As we well know, the miracle did occur, and Xena was saved from the path of her own destruction.
The machinery of that miracle was twofold. First, as I previously mentioned, Hercules opens Xena's eyes to the pain and suffering she has caused in "The Gauntlet". An alternate path is shown - a path Xena had closed her eyes to. After this wake-up call, Xena meets Gabrielle, and the rest (as the saying goes) is history.
I would like to take a moment to show just how convoluted the threads to the hero's cycle can be with just the two stages we've examined so far.
Taking a wide view, we can say that the call to adventure was first made to Xena when she organized her village's defense against the warlord Cortese. The self-interested conquest afterward is the refusal. Meeting Hercules and Gabrielle is the miracle that
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