The Hero's Journey: Meeting the Goddess
It has been some time since we have visited the realm of the hero's journey, so I will take a moment to recap and address some comments I have received about this series.
In his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell illustrates how nearly all the classic myths and legend of the past follow the same archetypical outline. While different stories may focus on different aspects of the cycle, the different symbols and images can be stripped away to reveal the same fundamental framework at the core.
But what is the ultimate point of all this? As I have mentioned in other articles, the ultimate purpose of the hero - and the hero cycle - is to serve as a symbol for our own life. The hero sets an example of the way to live a human life - often in the specific cultural heritage the legend originates from. Still, the same fundamental message can be found in traditions from a diverse array of cultures and time periods. Love and respect for your fellow man is the foundation of a good and healthy life.
That sounds a lot like the message Xena and Gabrielle carry with them, doesn't it?
I have received positive and negative feedback about this series. Diana Laskaris sent me a message thanking me for examining the mythic resonance that can be found in the series. She's been doing research of her own in this field, and loves to see classic themes appear in modern pop culture. Some things never go out of style, right?
I also got a message in the discussion forum from "Samfan" who doesn't like the in-depth academic bent of these articles. He points out that Xena is just a TV show, and there's no need to analyze it like some high school English text (my words).
I can understand that point of view. There is certainly something to be said for enjoying Xena as sheer entertainment. It is, after all, just a TV show - a forty-two and a half minute tale presented to us each week. Do we really need to focus on every last detail?
I would respond that the old myths and legend are, ultimately, nothing more than stories either. They have the weight of history behind them, and perhaps that gives them more gravity and "academic value." But I read about Zeus, Perseus, and Odysseus for sheer enjoyment and pleasure as well. Does that mean, ultimately, that the analyses of Professor Campbell are invalid? That simply because the legend of Gilgamesh is fiction from long before the Roman Empire it can't speak to me as a man of the twenty-first century?
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