Heroine's Journey Reading List FAQ Links
From Girl to Goddess Chapter Guide Bibliography Reviews Superheroines Children's Guide
The Heroine's Journey
Archetypes Chart Heroine's Journey Powerpoint Pintrest
What's the Heroine's Journey?
Though scholars often place heroine tales on Campbell’s hero’s journey point by point, the girl has always had a notably different journey than the boy. She quests to rescue her loved ones, not destroy the tyrant as Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker does. The heroine’s friends augment her natural feminine insight with masculine rationality and order, while her lover is a shapeshifting monster of the magical world—a frog prince or beast-husband (or two-faced vampire!). The epic heroine wields a magic charm or prophetic mirror, not a sword. And she destroys murderers and their undead servants as the champion of life. As she struggles against the Patriarchy—the distant or unloving father—she grows into someone who creates her own destiny.
Eventually, she too descends into the underworld in a maiden’s white gown, there to die and be reborn greater than before. Awaiting her is the wicked stepmother or Terrible Mother (as Jung calls her): the White Witch of Narnia or Wicked Witch of the West: slayer of children and figure of sterility and unlife. This brutal matriarch is often her only mentor. The heroine not only defeats her, she grows from the lesson and rejoins the world as young mother, queen, and eternal goddess.
(Qtd. from my book Buffy and the Heroine's Journey, 2012)
Follow the Steps of the Journey
From Girl to Goddess
Book Details
From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend
ISBN 978-0-7864-4831-9
October 2010
See it at McFarland and Co.
See it on Amazon
Interview in California Writers Club's Writer's Talk
Ordering
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Autographed Copies with a personal message. A
great gift for special women!
more information |
A Girl's Guide to the Heroine's Journey
Book Details
ISBN: 9781304250124
Spero Publishing
167 pages
July 2013
Paperback: $15.95
Ebook in all formats at Smashwords for $4.99.
Superheroines and the Epic Journey: Mythic Themes in Comics, Film and Television McFarland and Co. Fall 2016.
Valerie Estelle Frankel
Foreword by Trina Robbins
Print ISBN: 978-1-4766-6878-9
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-2801-1
glossary, bibliography, index
softcover (6 x 9) 2017
In the heroine’s journey, the young woman protagonist confronts her dark side and emerges stronger. This quest is a recurring theme in comic books and their screen adaptations. Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Black Widow each find their greatest enemy is their dark mother or shadow twin—the savagery they’ve rejected in themselves. Supergirl, in her latest television incarnation, strives to restore her bonds with her sister. This book explores the popular mythos of comics heroines like Jessica Jones, Catwoman, Harley Quinn and the new superwomen of webcomics, who all endure great personal struggle or sacrifice before emerging as female warrior-saviors.
"Frankel uses myth the way it was meant to be used, to help people understand how their lives fit into a larger world. She offers great depth of analysis in understanding how the mythic characters of comics utilize the standard mythic tropes. This is a must-have."--Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, Exploring the Next Frontier: Vietnam, NASA, Star Trek and Utopia in 1960s and 1970s American Myth and History.
Supporting Materials
PowerPoint presentation on the Heroine's Journey from Baycon 2010.
Comparison of Models
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Campbell’s Hero’s Journey |
Frankel's Heroine’s Journey |
Stages |
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The World of Common Day |
The World of Common Day |
Innocence and Discovery |
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The Call To Adventure |
The Call To Adventure |
Innocence and Discovery |
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Refusal of the Call |
Refusal of the Call |
Innocence and Discovery |
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Supernatural Aid |
The Ruthless Mentor and the Bladeless Talisman |
Innocence and Discovery |
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The Crossing of the First Threshold The Belly of the Whale |
The Crossing of the First Threshold Opening One’s Senses |
Journey through the Unconscious |
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The Road of Trials |
Sidekicks, Trials, Adversaries |
Journey through the Unconscious |
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The Meeting With the
Goddess |
Wedding the Animus Facing Bluebeard Finding the Sensitive Man Confronting the Powerless Father |
Meeting the Other |
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Atonement with the Father |
Descent into Darkness Atonement with the Mother Integration and Apotheosis |
Meeting the Self
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The Ultimate Boon |
Reward: Winning the Family |
Meeting the Self |
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Refusal of the Return |
Torn Desires The Magic Flight Reinstating the Family Return |
Meeting the Self
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Master of the Two Worlds |
Power over Life and Death
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Goddesshood and Wholeness |
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Freedom To Live |
Ascension of the New Mother
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Goddesshood and Wholeness |
