In this article we’ll cover the key Joseph Campbell archetypes that appear in the Hero’s Journey. After studying the Hero’s Journey and observing how it plays out in my life and in that of others, I think these five archetypes encapsulate the main structure of the Hero’s Journey and the key lessons we can derive from it. You’ll come across each of these archetypes dozens of times in your life.
The Hero’s Journey describes how the Hero archetype follows and realises his grand vision. This journey is the framework for hundreds of films, stories and myths, and it brilliantly captures the journey we undertake when trying to achieve anything significant.
The Hero’s Journey contains several archetypes, which you can think of recurring patterns, events, themes or metaphors. These five Joseph Campbell archetypes in particular capture the key parts of the journey.
The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure—be it a daemon, a human being, or a process—that constantly recurs in the course of history and appears wherever creative fantasy is freely expressed. Essentially, therefore, it is a mythological figure. . . . In each of these images there is a little piece of human psychology and human fate, a remnant of the joys and sorrows that have been repeated countless times in our ancestral history. . . .
CARL JUNG
Joseph Campbell Archetypes #1: The Hero
The Hero is the protagonist of the Hero’s Journey. Understand the Hero and his trials and tribulations, and you understand the journey.
First and foremost, the Hero has vision, a strong, compelling vision that undergirds and guides all his heroic deeds. He envisions bolstering his kingdom, rescuing a dame, capturing the jewels, or saving his citizens from danger. This is the target he shoots for as he fights enemies, seizes prized objects and jumps into the fire. This what gives him motivation to act. Without a vision, the Hero has no verve.
The Hero knows that his life is on a knife’s edge, yet he continues to fight for the good cause. And as he undertakes the Hero’s Journey, he must overcome many Guardians and obstacles on his way. Eventually, he must descend down into the depths of hell so he can conquer himself psychologically and become the warrior who will defeat the Final Boss.
The Hero archetype must be doggedly persistent to realise his vision and seize the Holy Grail. He constantly comes up against obstacles, both external and internal. He fails many times on his journey, but knows that through sheer persistence he will achieve his target. Though he is tempted to give up, his persistence is stronger than his fear, and eventually he prevails in his mission.
Before he undertakes the good fight, he is usually an immature, unexperienced farm boy who fears anything that eclipses his small circle of concern. By the time he has prevailed, he is a seasoned warrior who is capable of fighting dark forces. He undergoes wholesale physical and mental transformation.
Joseph Campbell Archetypes #2: The Messenger
The Messenger is one of the characters that precipitates the entire journey. When the Hero is living his pre-heroic, humdrum existence, the Messenger comes in to disrupt the mundanity and deliver the Call to Adventure, which is often a shocking piece of news or an invitation to some grand adventure.
The Messenger doesn’t have to be a person or character as such: it can also be any event, circumstance or object that forces the Hero to undertake the Hero’s Journey, often against his will. Often the Messenger comes by several times before the Hero finally repents and accepts the Call.
In Harry Potter, Hagrid acts as the Messenger in book one when he finds the Potter family hiding in an abandoned tower in the middle of the sea and takes Harry with him. The innumerable letters from Hogwarts are also part of the Call to Adventure. In Lord of the Rings, Gandalf plays a similar role when he visits the Shire at the beginning of the first film.
#3: The Threshold Guardian
On his journey, the Hero comes up against many obstacles, some minor, some major. In all Hero’s Journeys, there are a series of large obstacles called Threshold Guardians, each more formidable than the last.
These are the big milestones on the journey to the Holy Grail, the monsters that block the gates to the next stretch of the path. Sometimes the Hero defeats the guardians at first attempt; other times he is defeated and must retreat and regroup.
The Threshold Guardian is a metaphor for any block that we encounter when we’re endeavouring to grow in some way, whether it’s skillbuilding, spirituality, starting a business, or any other challenging path that requires years of effort and perseverance to succeed.
One way of viewing any process of growth or change is that it’s about overcoming a series of obstacles. See it from this point of view, and you realise that Threshold Guardians form the backbone of your journey. Overcome them, and you’ll succeed.
Learn how to overcome one of the toughest obstacles in any process of growth or change.
Joseph Campbell Archetypes #4: The Mentor
Once the Hero begins the journey, he finds or stumbles upon a mentor, who helps him to orient himself, gain the required skills, overcome his fears, and fight off the Hero’s enemies. Often he’s a wise old man who has completed the Hero’s Journey himself.
In fact, on his journey the Hero usually has a series of mentors. They come and go, and at some point in the journey (usually when he’s approaching the Final Boss), the Hero is forced to go it alone.
#5: The Final Boss
Eventually, after much travelling and fighting, the Hero comes to face the Final Boss, the last of the key Joseph Campbell archetypes. This is the final obstacle on his journey to the Holy Grail. It’s also the toughest. This is the dragon that guards the dame, the evil tyrant who threatens the kingdom, the monster protecting the jewels.
The battle with the Final Boss is a matter of life and death. The Hero could easily be killed or fatally wounded. Yet if he prevails, the Holy Grail is his.
In real life, the Final Boss is the last obstacle that stands between you and your ultimate goal. Perhaps it’s an exam, or a key step in your business, or a tough job interview.
Before he can tackle the Final Boss, the Hero must go down into the depths of hell and face his greatest fear, whether it’s a fear of death, of poverty, of embarrassment, or of rejection. His psychology starts screwing with him. He has a moment of despair. Only once he has overcome his greatest limitation is he able to summon the courage to give battle.
The Hero goes inside and overcomes his fears, and faces the Final Boss. By hook or by crook, he prevails and the Holy Grail is now waiting for him. As he goes to seize it, he thinks back to his humdrum life, the ordinary world in which he started. He realises the transformation he has undergone in undertaking the journey.
There we have the five key Joseph Campbell archetypes: The Hero, The Messenger, The Threshold Guardian, The Mentor and the Final Boss. I urge you to look for these archetypes in any process of growth or change you undertake. Start to recognise them, and your journey will make lots more sense to you.
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