A Life of Adventure
The life of Stephen Hawking, as displayed in the movie The Theory of Everything, was largely marked by a search for a single, unifying theory that explains how everything works. When it comes to story-telling across history and societies, Joseph Campbell provides a unifying motif, known as the “hero’s journey.” One can argue that The Hero with a Thousand Faces is Campbell’s “theory of everything” for storytelling.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces expounds on the normative structure of the hero’s journey by providing examples from diverse times and places. He divides this journey into three main stages: “separation – initiation – return.”[1] He then breaks these main stages into subsections that provide the framework of the hero’s journey.[2]
The first subsection within the “separation” stage is the call to adventure. This is Frodo enjoying life in the Shire, disrupted from his bliss, and invited by Gandalf the wizard to go out into the dangerous world beyond what he has always known. Campbell describes it this way, “…destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of this society to a zone unknown.”[3] Dr. Edwin Friedman contends that whole societies can be stuck into a status quo, a regressed state that is more focused on safe, known, refusing to adventure into the unknown. Medieval Europe looked like this.[4] People were stuck with an archaic idea of the world – flat, the center of the solar system, and little concept for the great landmass across the Atlantic. But, in the spirit of adventure, Columbus “swung open a door barely ajar” and a new world was discovered (or, more accurately, stolen, which is a major detail Friedman failed to recognize).[5]
This opening of a door into coming across a new yet inhabited world, resulting in forever transforming one’s understanding of the world in general connects, “threshold concepts” with Campbell’s “hero’s journey.” In Campbell’s case, crossing the first threshold is the first step from the known world into the unknown. He equates this with Columbus’ encouraging his crew forward into the adventure – “breaking the horizon of the medieval mind” – despite their fears.[6]
Facing one’s fears is a nonnegotiable in the hero’s journey. If adventure was easy, risk-free, and calm, everyone would embark on the adventure. But this is not the case. Through the hero’s journey, there are various trials one faces. From what I have observed in our society, we need to reframe trials from experiences to be avoided to opportunities for transformation. The trials in life open doors for growth. A life of ease means a life of refusing the call to adventure – remaining in the known world of the status quo. Venturing out into the unknown means one will face trials. For “resisting the general blandishment” means engaging with “danger.”[7] But in these obstacles are opportunities to overcome and be transformed.
Because of these trials, the hero returns from the adventure, and everything is the same, though different, for the hero has transformed. These challenges have transformed the hero. The adventure of discipleship Jesus invites his disciples into will transform them into fishers of people (Matt. 4:19).
It is clear Joseph Campbell’s sexism excludes women from the hero’s journey. James Parker of The Atlantic points out that “of the hero’s 1,000 faces, 999 are male.”[8] However, before us all is the invitation to adventure. In our lives we can choose between complacency (the status quo) or challenge by stepping out into the unknown in the spirit of adventure. Choosing the latter results in oneself being changed. This life of adventure is a life of meaning. We may imagine a life of ease is the life we desire. But a life of adventure, embracing challenge and facing our fears, is the meaningful life we truly desire. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there is your treasure. The very cave you enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for.”[9]
[1] Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 3rd ed, Bollingen Series XVII (Novato, Calif: New World Library, 2008) 23.
[2] What Makes a Hero? – Matthew Winkler, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA 00:57 – 01:03.
[3] Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 48.
[4] Friedman, A Failure of Nerve, 26-27.
[5] Ibid. 36.
[6] Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 64.
[7] Ibid. 196.
[8] James Parker, “Joseph Campbell’s Woman Problem,” The Atlantic, August 4, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/09/maria-tatar-heroine-1001-faces/619494/.
[9] Joseph Campbell, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, ed. Diane K. Osbon, Reprint edition (New York: Harper Perennial, 1995), 24.
About the Author
David Beavis
David is Australian by birth, was raised in Southern California, and is the Youth and Young Adults Pastor at B4 Church in Beaverton, Oregon. David and his wife, Laura, live in Hillsboro with their dog, Coava (named after their favorite coffee shop). M.A. Theology - Talbot School of Theology B.A. Psychology - Vanguard University of Southern California11 responses to “A Life of Adventure”
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David, I’m always amazed at how seamlessly you tie in different works and authors. I’m curious to hear how you might describe whatever adventure you feel you’ve been undertaking lately in your life.
As far as what adventure looks like in my own life, it really comes down to three things: 1. faithfully serving in Ninevah when I wanted to go to Tarshish. It seems less like going out into the unknown, but rather finding the adventure in the status quo. 2. Supporting my wife with her business start-up endeavors. 3. This project portfolio journey. Of course, with each of these, there are various obstacles and guides.
Hey David,
Great connections and analysis. I’m curious, how might the hero’s journey influence your work with students?
Perhaps, a “cave” prayer station where they face their worst fear? Could be fun!
Oh that’s a great idea! Thanks Chad!
David,
Thank you for noting the bias for male hero’s in Campbell’s: The Hero With a 1000 Faces. I thought you might like to read a discovery I made:
In the introduction to The Heroine With 1001 Faces, there is an account of a female student, of Professor Campbell’s, who said, “Well , Mr. Campbell, you have been talking about the hero. But what about the women? The startled professor raised his eyebrows and replied, “The woman’s the mother of the hero, she is the goal of the hero’s achieving; she’s the protectress of the hero; she is this, she is that. What more do you want?” “I want to be the hero,” she announced.”
When you say: “It is clear Joseph Campbell’s sexism excludes women from the hero’s journey”, what impact do you believe this has on the reader’s of The Hero with a 1000 Faces? Is there a heroine who has impacted you personally?
Matt. 4:19 I appreciate your mentioning Jesus’ call to adventure to the disciples and to us!
Great blog! Thanks David
Hi Kristy,
The impact the lack of female representation has is two-fold: 1. For those who do not notice the lack of representation (particularly men), it exacerbates unconscious bias that the hero is always male. 2. For those who feel the lack of representation, there must at minimum be a feeling of disappointment and lack of being seen. But as a man, I cannot adequately speak to this. What are your thoughts when you look back on your leadership experiences Kristy?
David,
Thank you for your thoughtful response.
” For those who feel the lack of representation, there must at minimum be a feeling of disappointment and lack of being seen.”
You make this observation. There is too much to say in regards to this this feeling of disappointment and lack of being seen. There is more than a feeling or brief/momentary lack of being seen. For me I have needed to work through an internalized belief system from birth of feeling “2nd”. I guess I could call my cave experience: “effects of male bias”. The treasure I have had in coming out of this cave: 1) God’s hand in my life in spite of male bias, 2) Ministry that God has provided, giving meaning and purpose, 3) my husband-who ROCKS! 4) pursuing my doctorate.
Thanks for throwing a question back at me.
Thanks for sharing how you go about writing your posts to Jenny!
David, Wow, what a great job weaving together Campbell with Friedman, Scripture, and the ideas of other authors. I also appreciate your added insights throughout your blog which bring a little more truth and clarity to the ideas we’re discussing.
For example, I like that you point out that Columbus stole the new world, as opposed to discovered it. I also really like your highlight that most of the heroes that Campbell mentions are male, despite the many heroines of which we are aware in mythology, throughout history, and right in our midst. It’s interesting, I watched an interview that came out in 1988 between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell.1 Moyers asked Campbell if the mother who gives herself to raising her children is also a hero? Campbell said that indeed she was a hero, inferring that she, herself, was the hero, and not just the mother of a hero. I wonder if Campbell might have changed his thinking on this later in life.
I have a general question for you. You seem to be enjoying writing our weekly blogs. Is this a correct observation and if so, what are you enjoying most about this process?
1. https://billmoyers.com/content/ep-4-joseph-campbell-and-the-power-of-myth-sacrifice-and-bliss-audio/, 0:00-2:05.
Hi Jenny,
You are correct, I am thoroughly enjoying the weekly blogging rhythm. My process for writing it this: After getting a good grasp on the content I put together a rough outline, I start writing, and then I wordsmith the sentences, edit, re-write, read over again, talk myself out of getting stuck in the “this is trash” mental dialogue, and post it feeling satisfied with the work.
I guess what I enjoy most is the outlining part because I am actively imagining the journey I am leading readers through.
Thanks, David, for your response and for outlining your reading and blogging routine. That is so interesting that you sometimes get stuck in the “this is trash” mental dialogue. I do that, as well. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and enjoy reading your blogs!
“It is clear Joseph Campbell’s sexism excludes women from the hero’s journey”.
Wow, this was an interesting thought to me. As a woman I didn’t take offense to this as Hercules, Superman, Spider-Man, Aquaman, Batman, Black Panther, Thor, Flash, etc. are all men. Typically this “hero set” is men, and the damsel is in distress. Does that mean that the woman is inferior? I don’t believe so personally. The smartest, and toughest people can sometimes get in a jam, and needs help.
I’m curious, was this just a general observation or do you personally find a problem with it?
As always I absolutely loved your writing and how you so seamlessly flowed it all together.