The Hero's Journey: Refusal of the Call
that returned her to the hero's path.
But, if we focus our attention a little narrower, we can see several calls to adventure, and several refusals. Cortese attacks her village, and Xena proceeds to conquer the surrounding lands. She encounters M'Lila and is then led astray by Caesar. Lao Ma tries to rein the Warrior Princess in, but Xena refuses her aid. Cyane, the Amazon Queen from "Adventures in the Sin Trade"(X69 & 70) tries to help her, but Xena is tempted by Alti and kills Cyane and the rest of the Amazon leaders. Hercules asks her to help fight Darphus, but she pursues her own agenda. Finally, she meets Gabrielle and fully accepts the call to her destiny.
Looking at it this way, there are six calls, and each of these calls (except for the last) has its accompanying refusal. Xena's road to heroism was certainly a rocky one!
But Xena isn't the only one who refused the call to adventure. Gabrielle had her own moment. In "The Prodigal" (X18), she froze in the middle of a fight. This loss of nerve plagued her with doubt and she left the hero's path she was on. Fortunately, the defense of her village from the warlord Damon and the friendship that develops between her and Meleager the Mighty returns her to her senses.
The reluctant hero is a common theme in myths and legends from around the world. The one chosen turns his back on the destiny planned for him. The story that could have been a soul-lifting example of triumph over adversity becomes a tragedy of potential unrealized.
But there are also examples of the hero returning to his calling after trying to run away from it. Indeed, it is often these tales of reluctant heroes that win our hearts because the hero seems more human. Their frailties remind us of our own. The adventures of Xena and Gabrielle are an example of this kind of story. Though each has at one time or another refused destiny's call, they have returned to the hero's path, stronger and more ready to fulfill their role in the tapestry of myth.
Next week, we'll examine the third stage of the hero's journey, Supernatural Aid.
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