melissaK
02-15-2014, 09:48 AM
This analogy has been made before, but seemed important to me to revisit today in posting on a thread PaulaQ started. Seemed worthy of being a thread on its own.
I think in many ways a transgendered's journey is the classic "Hero's Journey" written about by Joseph Campbell. Campbell looked at mythic literature for a common hero archetype and reduced the plot lines of hundreds of stories to this:
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
For us transgendered we encounter supernatural wonders, but they come from within, i.e. an immeasurable, unprovable, inescapable inner calling to become the opposite gender. (Think Star Trek, to boldly go where no man has gone before).
This calling is so strong, we must leave the common day world and take on the mission. (Think Close Encounters of a Third Kind where certain people must go to Devils Tower in Wyoming).
If we do not make this journey, if we are prohibited, we are likely to take our own life. (I drew a blank on this one, suggestions accepted, I know there's a movie out there somewhere where the Hero is drunk and self destructive until called to join the team and make something of himself, maybe Jane Fonda hiring drunken gunfighter Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou?)
In our journey we encounter considerable adversity, from intolerant social rule makers who don't understand, (Uncle Ben in Star Wars telling Luke stay home) to expensive surgeons who tax our resources to their limits (Neo and Morpheus must find the Keymaker, in Matrix Reloaded).
And if we succeed, we do not really ever inhabit the common world any more, we exist with a depth of insight few understand. Perhaps we live silently. (http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/heroes-among-us%C2%A0ordinary-people-extraordinary-choices), perhaps we help others in their journey (Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid), or perhaps we revise some social rules and hold the initial naysayers accountable. (Maybe Simba confronting Scar in the Lion King).
Our journey is epic, it is heroic, it is ours. Go be heroic.
Happy Saturday my fellow heroines.*
If you don't know of the "Hero's Journey" literature archetype start with the wiki page maybe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces
Or these four pages:
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-the-return-part-1-the-road-back/
http://myforgottenpen.com/heros-journey-return-part-2-resurrection/
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-the-return-part-3-return-with-the-elixir/
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-initiation-part-4-the-reward/
or this one: The Lion King broken down: http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/HeroJourneyLionKing.pdf
* My epic task for the day is however pretty mundane - I'm cleaning out the garage . . . but I will rock my pony tail while I'm doing it!.
I think in many ways a transgendered's journey is the classic "Hero's Journey" written about by Joseph Campbell. Campbell looked at mythic literature for a common hero archetype and reduced the plot lines of hundreds of stories to this:
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
For us transgendered we encounter supernatural wonders, but they come from within, i.e. an immeasurable, unprovable, inescapable inner calling to become the opposite gender. (Think Star Trek, to boldly go where no man has gone before).
This calling is so strong, we must leave the common day world and take on the mission. (Think Close Encounters of a Third Kind where certain people must go to Devils Tower in Wyoming).
If we do not make this journey, if we are prohibited, we are likely to take our own life. (I drew a blank on this one, suggestions accepted, I know there's a movie out there somewhere where the Hero is drunk and self destructive until called to join the team and make something of himself, maybe Jane Fonda hiring drunken gunfighter Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou?)
In our journey we encounter considerable adversity, from intolerant social rule makers who don't understand, (Uncle Ben in Star Wars telling Luke stay home) to expensive surgeons who tax our resources to their limits (Neo and Morpheus must find the Keymaker, in Matrix Reloaded).
And if we succeed, we do not really ever inhabit the common world any more, we exist with a depth of insight few understand. Perhaps we live silently. (http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/heroes-among-us%C2%A0ordinary-people-extraordinary-choices), perhaps we help others in their journey (Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid), or perhaps we revise some social rules and hold the initial naysayers accountable. (Maybe Simba confronting Scar in the Lion King).
Our journey is epic, it is heroic, it is ours. Go be heroic.
Happy Saturday my fellow heroines.*
If you don't know of the "Hero's Journey" literature archetype start with the wiki page maybe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces
Or these four pages:
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-the-return-part-1-the-road-back/
http://myforgottenpen.com/heros-journey-return-part-2-resurrection/
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-the-return-part-3-return-with-the-elixir/
http://myforgottenpen.com/the-heros-journey-initiation-part-4-the-reward/
or this one: The Lion King broken down: http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/HeroJourneyLionKing.pdf
* My epic task for the day is however pretty mundane - I'm cleaning out the garage . . . but I will rock my pony tail while I'm doing it!.