Hero vs. Heroine's Journey

This past week, I have been conducting research for one of my stories that revolves around a female main character going on a journey to refine her powers and discover her purpose in life. I lean more fantasy in my writings, and I often use Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey structure. However, this time, I found that his story structure was not working with the character's internal conflicts. This sent me down a rabbit hole of research that I had to share.

The Hero's Journey

For those unfamiliar, Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey structure is detailed in his book, The Hero of a Thousand Faces.

If you have never perused this book, I highly recommend it! Not only does it help your writing, but it also changes how you view cinema and literature (for the better).

Or, for the quicker option, you can refer to the graphic below, which, just so you know, flows counter-clockwise.

Campbell's stance is that all of the most famous stories have been told before and are really just a retelling of the same story using a specific structure. My favorite modern day example? Star Wars. Don't think so? Let's review the plot of A New Hope:

Luke Skywalker finds Princess Leia's plea for help in R2D2 and refuses to go with Obi Wan Kenobi to Alderaan, but decides to go on the journey after his aunt and uncle are killed by the Empire. (Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid)

He and Obi Wan recruit Han Solo and Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan (Crossing the First Threshold) only to discover that it has been destroy by the Empire. They then infiltrate the Death Star and recover Princess Leia with much difficulty (Road of Trials, Belly of the Whale= trash compactor, Meeting with the Goddess). Obi Wan faces Darth Vadar and loses that battle, nearly discouraging Luke from continuing on (Temptation). He ultimately decides to continue and fight in the battle of Yavin 4. During the battle, he is guided by the voice of Obi Wan (Apostasis) and is protected by Han (Rescue from Without) so he could complete the task and ultimately, destroys the Death Star (Ultimate Boon). He then is received as a hero of the rebellion and is left to decide his own fate off of Tattooine. (Freedom to Live)

Now, when you're writing your own hero's journey story, often times you do not use the full wheel. For example, A New Hope leaves wiggle room with the Atonement of the Father, since the ultimate atonement deals with Luke and Vadar, as well as the Master of Two Worlds, since he has not training to become a Jedi yet. While the wheel is debatable for individual movies, each one of the phases is eventually covered by the end of the original trilogy. This is also why sometimes you will see the wheel consolidated down into twelve stages, as seen below.

Like I said prior, I use this model a lot. However, it doesn't usually serve my stories that center on female characters, and I could not figure out why for the longest time. Aren't they heroes in their own right? Don't they deserve the same conflicts?

Perhaps not, because that was when I discovered...

The Heroine's Journey

I initially tripped on this model while watching Disney's Mulan. It has always been one of my more favorite Disney tales simply because I love the evolution of Mulan embracing both her masculine and feminine traits to be seen as a whole, united being. I realized that other female characters I loved embark on similar journeys, like Merida or Katniss Everdeen.

Then I found an article that explained Gail Carriger's findings in a book entitled The Heroine's Journey. Me being me, I read the book myself and was pleased to find that someone else had found some of the same patterns in cinema and modern literature that I had. I found it to be a perfect addition to Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces.

However, this sent me down a refined search where I then discovered a second book entitled The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness by Maureen Murdock.

This book had a slightly different approach to the Heroine's Journey that I found easier to adapt to my personal writing style. However, the two wheels do not vary by much. Let's compare.

Here is Gail Carriger's:

And here is Maureen Murdock's:

What is the main difference?

Honestly, language and approach. Murdock focuses much more on the psychological journey and how it correlates to one's spirituality while Carriger holds more of a plot-based, structural perspective with plenty of examples. Murdock's model helped me to figure out my character's inward journey of how her experiences could evolve over time, whereas Carriger's model helped me to develop my plot.

Remember me saying that I discovered this model while watching Mulan? That is because it is one of Carriger's examples and, honestly, it's a good one. Here's my personal interpretation: Mulan is a young girl who cannot fit the mold of the traditional feminine model in her town, as seen by her rejection by the Matchmaker. (Separation from the Feminine) This leads to familial conflicts as she is told multiple times to "not know her place" (broken familial network, pleas ignored) and then decides to take her father's place in the army in order to save his life. While Mulan trains for the army, she befriends several interesting characters (surrogate family/identification with the masculine) and struggles to complete the tasks demanded of her (road of trials), but eventually succeeds. (Illusory boon of success) However, Mulan then goes off to war and is exposed to its horrors (Visit to the Underworld/Awakening). It is at this point that Mulan is revealed as a woman, separates from the army, and must find a way to warn them of the Hun invasion with them no longer accepting her status, though she now has found the balance within herself. (Reconnecting with the Feminine/Reunification) She then devises the ultimate plan to overcome the Huns and defeat Shan Yu by dressing up her friends as women and infiltrating the palace. (Integration of masculine/feminine, Revenge and glory) It is then that Mulan achieves her fullest glory and returns home with honor to the acceptance of her father. (Network rebuilt)

Apply It!

Just like the Campbell's structure, the Heroine's Journey has some wiggle room for the needs of the story. I find that combining the two versions helps to complete a more wholesome approach when it comes to integrating it into writing.

One of the last things I would like to note is how both approaches follow a three-act structure but detail the moments that keep the plots momentum. One of the tactics I use is to determine which elements of greatest importance to the story I am telling. Is this a character based tale where their intrinsic and spiritual journey is the most important? Perhaps then I focus on more on the Goddess and Spirit Guides described in the wheels. Is it a political narrative where the hero experiences consequences to their actions that all derrive from a single source of evil? Perhaps then the illusory and ultimate boon become more of the focus, like Frodo getting the ring to Mordor. Consider important questions like this if you decide to follow these structures, and keep in mind that even the greatest tales that use them don't always utilize every part.

Use these tools to your advantage. Studying structures can strengthen your approach.

Keep writing y'all!