The Benomyth

  Murdoch’s Heroine’s Journey begins with a “separation from the feminine” and ends with “integration of the masculine and feminine.” Campbell’s Hero’s Journey begins with a call to adventure and ends after its hero gains the “Freedom to Live” and becomes a “Master of Two Worlds.” While both journeys maintain semblances to hallmark fictional conventions (rising and falling action, climax etc.), the beginnings and endings, and subsequently, the purposes, of these journeys are altogether different. Campbell’s structured format guides its hero beyond most normal expectations and onto higher fantastical callings wherein the protagonist more often than not achieves some degree of self-actualization. Murdoch’s heroine’s response to Campbell is more pessimistic. The lofty end goal for the heroine is to merely achieve the same status as the men of her world start with. The resolution of these journey structures retroactively dictates how we observe the previous steps. The differences betwe...