In his exploration of mythology, Joseph Campbell argues many of the myths told throughout the world possess a similar formula, which the scholar labels the monomyth. Although this structure varies slightly with each legend, the overall configuration remains the same: a hero leaves the confines of everyday life, enters an otherworldly realm, encounters characters and circumstances which provide either assistance or trouble on the quest, and returns home a new individual.[1] One of the first and largest elements the hero faces, Campbell argues, is the magical aid, who often presents the hero with protective talismans and superhuman abilities to help during the course of the adventure.[2] While these figures wear alternate guises in different cultures (for instance, the humble hermit Kyazimba in East-African legends, the Spider Woman in Native-American tales, the Virgin Mary in Medieval-Christian lore, and the fairy godmother in contemporary narratives), they all have common attributes: the aids are supernatural beings who reside in the strange world the hero enters and bestow the protagonist with mystical artifacts and powers.[3] As a result, the supernatural, Campbell explains, plays a pivotal role in the monomyth and the progression of the journey. Without these magic elements, the hero, who is often from the human realm, would be unable to truly contend in the enchanted plain where the adventure occurs, especially against antagonists who possess their own charms and superhuman abilities. Hence, the magical aids and their mystical support elevate the hero to an even field, which allows the events of the adventure to transpire.
Works Referenced
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 1949. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972.
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[1] Campbell, 30.
[2] Campbell, 69-77.
[3] Campbell, 69-77.
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