Notes

Keenon Burns
Professor Bryan
English 3236 - Tolkien and Lewis
December 9th, 2022
Hero’s Journey As Seen Within Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces”
One may have heard from someplace that a story needs to be original, but is that truly the case? There are several archetypes a story can fit into, some examples of which are the Vegetation Mythology, the Bear Son Tale type, and the Hero’s Journey. Countless stories fit into each of the archetypes, and for good reason, these archetypes contain components for a wonderful story.
The Hero’s Journey, as labeled by Joseph Campbell, has been revisited several times with slight alterations to what exactly each segment is. The one that I will be using to analyze “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis, is by Christopher Vogler. Vogler’s idea of the Hero’s Journey is split into 12 segments as opposed to Campbell’s 17 segments. The first act consists of; the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, the Refusal of the Call, the Meeting with the Mentor, and the Crossing of the Threshold. The second act contains; the Tests, Allies, and Enemies. It also has the Approach of the Innermost Cave, the Ordeal, and the Reward. The final act of the Hero’s Journey consists of; the Road Back, the Resurrection, and the Return with the Elixir.
Some very well known examples of the Hero’s Journey are Star Wars, Harry Potter, and even Shrek. Each of these well known stories are wildly different from one another, but each of them follow the Hero’s Journey almost point for point. But what about C.S. Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces”?
The first section of the Hero’s Journey is called “The Ordinary World”, this section is often used to familiarize the reader with the hero’s desires, provide depth for the hero, and may introduce the reader to the hero’s inner and external problems. This aligns well with the start of Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces”. In the beginning of the story, in order to familiarize the reader with Orual’s desires, the reader is shown Orual writing a book to which she claims to be an accusation against the gods. This successfully introduces the reader to Orual’s desires, because when the text states “free from fear, I will write in this book what no one who has happiness would dare to write. I will accuse the gods, especially the god who lives on the Grey Mountain --- Then he will talk of it among the Greeks, where there is great freedom of speech even about the gods themselves. Perhaps their wise men will know whether my complaint is right” (Lewis #), It becomes clear to the reader that what Orual wants is to have her complaints against the gods answered.
The beginning of the story also provides depth to Orual by going into details of her upbringing. Orual writes about her home, her position in the city, and where the city of Glome stands. The depth is provided throughout the entire chapter, but one key point in the chapter that showcases her depth as a character is when Orual writes “I loved the Fox, as my father called him, better than anyone I had yet known. ” (Lewis #). This gives the reader insight into the mind of Orual, and how her opinions of her family started to form.
The start of “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis also does well to introduce the reader to Orual’s internal and external struggles. Her internal problems are showcased nicely when “Do you think I want my queen frightened out of her senses? —- and I think that was the first time I clearly understood that I am ugly” (#). This shows that Orual struggles with her self-confidence and has low esteem. The parallels between Christopher Vogler’s Hero’s Journey and C.S. Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” does not end there, for there are several similarities that can be seen with the next section, the Call to Adventure.
The Call to Adventure often serves to disrupt the comfort of the hero, present a challenge, and the consequences of what failing the challenge entails. This can be plotted to certain areas within Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces”. The disruption of comfort in “Till We Have Faces” can be seen when Psyche is chosen to be sacrificed [text] (#). [discuss].
The challenge that is given to Orual comes to her after she goes to retrieve her body and give her a proper burial. Her challenge at that moment is to convince her sister to come back home, as seen here [text] (Lewis #). [discuss], and the consequences that are provided, if she is unable to convince Psyche, are _____, [support]. [text] (#). [discuss].
The next section of the hero’s journey is the Refusal of the Call, and as Vogler wrote, “A Hero Refuses the Journey because of fears and insecurities that have surfaced from the Call to
Adventure. The Hero is not willing to make changes, preferring the safe haven of the Ordinary World.” (The Stages of the Hero’s Journey, 3). What this means is that the purpose of this section is that it shows the readers how the hero deals with their faults. This is mirrored in Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” when [How Orual deals with her struggles / Her talk with Psyche where she threatens herself], as seen when it is written “[text]” (#). [discussion].
Meeting the Mentor is the next stage of the Hero’s Journey, and the purpose of this section is to assist the hero with their faults. This is probably the most clear parallel in “Till We Have Faces”, the mentor in the story is The Fox. This is seen all throughout the story, but one of the most prevalent examples of the Fox being Orual’s mentor is when the text states “[the scene of him rebuking her decision to attempt to force Psyche back” (#). The reason why this scene works so well to establish the Fox as Orual’s mentor is because it shows just hoe much wiser the Fox is compared to Orual, in addition it also goes to show how much Orual values the Foxes opinion.
After Meeting the Mentor comes Crossing the Threshold. This section signifies the hero’s decision to commit to the journey. Vogler also says that “The Crossing may require
more than accepting one’s fears, a map, or a swift kick in the rear from a Mentor.” (The Stages of the Hero’s Journey, 3). While Crossing the Threshold often represents moving to a different physical location, that is not always the case. This is seen wonderfully when ____. [text] (Lewis, #). [discussion].
Orual can also be seen accepting her fear of ___ as seen when Lewis writes “[text]” (Till We Have Faces, #). [discussion]. Another parallel that can be seen to the Crossing the Threshold section is the interaction between the hero and mentor. In this story, the Fox [interaction with Orual], this is showcased in the text, “[text]” (#). [discussion]. With both of these examples being almost a direct mirror to Vogler’s idea of the Hero’s Journey, it is clear that there is no shortage of parallels between the text and the Hero’s Journey.
The next section, which is the start of the second act, is composed of 3 parts, Tests, Allies, and Enemies. Each of the parts have their own significance to the greater story. Tests are used to provide the hero a relatively minor obstacle to overcome. An example of a test that can be seen in Lewis’s story “Till We Have Faces” is when Orual has to _____ [text] (#). This is important for the story because ______.
The second part of this section is Allies, which is important to the story because it gives the hero someone to share the burden with. Orual also acquires several allies throughout the story such as the Fox and Bardia. [why the Fox is an ally]. [why Bardia is an ally].
The last portion of this section, enemies, is useful to the story because, much like the tests, it gives the hero and the allies an obstacle to overcome. One example of an enemy that can be found within Lewis’s story is ______. [importance], [text] (#). [discussion].
After Tests, Allies, and Enemies comes the section Approach the Innermost Cave. The purpose of this section is to show to the reader that the hero has adjusted to the secondary world on the other side of the threshold. In addition it also provides a sense of anticipation for the next section of the Hero’s Journey, this is done by requiring the hero to make use of their preparations for The Ordeal. This can be seen in Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” when ________. [support] [text](#). [discussion].
The Ordeal is the next section of the Hero’s Journey, the purpose of this section is to let the hero overcome ‘death’. This death does not always have to be literal death, but rather it can be a stand-in for any number of things such as, a surrender or even just a break-up. In “Till We Have Faces” this is mirrored when Orual [her meeting with the ghost/god council?]. The text that supports this is, “[text]” (#). [Discussion].
The ninth installment of this Journey is Seize the Reward. What this section is about is where the hero is rewarded for overcoming The Ordeal. The reward can be any number of things, and as Vogler himself put it, “Whatever the treasure, the Hero has earned the right to celebrate” (The Stages of the Hero’s Journey, 5). The celebration also serves a purpose, as it allows the hero to relax for a moment before resuming their journey to the end of the story. This section of the journey can be seen in Lewis’s story when Orual [action], which is shown in the text, “[text]” (Till We Have Faces #). [discussion].
The Road Back Home is the third to last section of Vogel’s Hero’s Journey and is also the beginning of the third act. This portion of the journey highlights the hero’s return to the primary world, and much like the section Crossing the Threshold, an event is often needed to facilitate the journey between the primary and secondary world. The event that fits this criteria within Orual’s journey is [her numerous visions leading up to the ghost council?]. This can be deduced from the text, “[text]” (Till We Have Faces, #). [discussion].
The next section of the Hero’s Journey is the Resurrection. This section is often the final climax of the story, and is often used to show the readers just how much the hero has changed through one final experience with the so-called ‘death’. This can be seen in “Till We Have Faces” when Orual [changes her mind about the gods?], some text that can be used to support this idea is “[end of her complaint rant]” (Lewis, #). [discussion].
The final portion of the Hero’s Journey is the Return with the Elixir. The purpose of this section is to imbue the hero with what they need to face the primary world once more and to bring closure to both the hero and audience. This has several parallels with Orual’s journey. She is shown to that she is ready to accept the primary world and to reach a sense of closure when the text that states “I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer” (Lewis, #). The reader is also given a sense of closure with the afterword of Arnom taking Orual’s book, and setting off towards Greece.
All in all, with each of the sections of the Hero’s Journey having ample parallels with moments and parts of Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces”, [conclude].[filler].[something witty to end off on].
Works Cited
Vogler, Christopher. Excepts from Myth and the Movies, Stuart Voytilla 1 Foreword. 1 June 2003.
TILL WE HAVE FACES: A MYTH RETOLD by C.S. LEWIS (1956) (Version 2.0).
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler (Michael Wiese
Productions; 2007) (3rd edition).