Our heroine has reached the end of her journey and returns transformed. This stage is about the ascension of the new mother. The heroine is changed and so the world is changed. She can now start a new life, establish a new family or community. Jane Eyre Returns with the Elixir Jane returns to Thornfield… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Return with the Elixir

Our heroine has taken the Road Back to the Ordinary World and must now be resurrected. This stage is about purification and the purging of the past, and it takes us to the climax which requires another death. This is where the heroine must demonstrate what she has learnt. In the heroine’s journey this stage… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Resurrection

Our heroine has survived the Ordeal and received her Reward. Now she must return to the ordinary world with her new knowledge or skills and face the consequences of confronting the darkness of the Ordeal. This stage marks a shift in focus and may give rise to new goals. In the heroine’s journey this stage… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: The Road Back

Our heroine has lived through the worst in her Ordeal and will now be transformed. The confrontation with death brings about the change necessary for her to move forward on her journey and Seize the Sword. In other words, she finally takes possession of what she was really after all along – her true self.… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Reward

Our heroine has journeyed to the underworld and is now ready to confront her greatest fear. All could be lost as she is pushed to the edge in a life or death moment. In the heroine’s journey this stage is the descent into darkness and atonement with the Great Mother: a quest for integration and… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Ordeal

Our heroine is now enmeshed in a strange new world with different rules she doesn’t understand. She must prepare for the descent into darkness to face the ultimate test. In the heroine’s journey this stage often involves a confrontation with the dark masculine, like Bluebeard, or the powerless father. The heroine realises the father cannot… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Approach the Inmost Cave

Our heroine has Crossed the First Threshold and entered the Special World of the story where she will be tested before confronting the ordeal to come. This part of the story brings out the heroine’s potential for change. In the heroine’s journey this stage may be marked by a rape trauma of some kind. She… Continue reading The Heroine’s Journey: Tests, Allies, Enemies