Ordinary World

The Hero's Journey most closely mimics Eve's journey, making it more of an anti-Hero's journey. Her ordinary world is on the outside, waiting by the backdoor of a Broadway theater for a shot at meeting her idol. She's just like any of us who have tried to get an autograph or waited to meet Klingon #4 at a local Star Trek convention.

Call To Adventure

Eve unexpectedly finds herself on the inside when Karen invites her backstage to meet her idol, Margo Channing. Continuing the Star Trek analogy from step one, this would be like going to a Star Trek convention and being invited onto the USS Enterprise. Beam us up, Margo.

Refusal Of The Call

Eve's tiny refusal is a ruse, intended to make her look much more nervous and humble than she actually is. Eve's grand plot is to meet Margo, study her, and become her. (In one last Star Trek reference: Eve is the Borg.) Her brief "I'm not worthy" moment is something she must do to not seem too eager. She must be sneaky, or Margo may suspect her ulterior motive.

Meeting The Mentor

After being taken backstage by Karen, Eve meets her idol and mentor: Margo Channing. Unbeknownst to Margo, Eve is taking all Margo's advice and using it for her own personal gain, which will happen at Margo's expense.

Crossing The Threshold

Eve wants to be a celebrity, so she literally crosses a threshold from the back alley of a Broadway theater into the hustle and bustle of the backstage. When Margo offers Eve a job, she eagerly takes it. This presents her with another threshold to cross—the one of Margo's personal home. Crossing this threshold gives Eve unfettered access to her mentor's personal life. It's like if a robber walked into a bank and found the vault wide open.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Typically in this stage, the hero finds out who to trust and who not to trust. Because Eve is an anti-hero, she must convince others to trust her. To do this, she allies with other manipulative, untrustworthy characters, like sketchy critic Addison. Eve slowly pushes boundaries here, trying to get an audition and, she hopes, a starring role in a play.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

Eve wants to be a celebrity because she wants people to like her. The irony is that she turns Margo, Karen, and others against her in her ruthless pursuit to the top. Eve seemed genuinely happy to have friends at the beginning of the movie, but to gain the adoration of the public, she loses the people who considered her a friend. She convinces Karen to keep Margo away from the theater so that she can get an audition.

Ordeal

Margo discovers that Eve pulled the wool over her eyes. Eve wants Margo's role and her man. If Eve weren't a sociopath, it would destroy her to hurt her friend so badly. However, Eve wants fame more than anyone else, so she doesn't really care that she hurts Margo, making this stage much more of an ordeal for Margo than for Eve.

Reward (Seizing The Sword)

The reward usually comes from defeating the enemy, but in Eve's case, her reward comes from becoming the enemy. After conning Eve, Karen, and even her ally Addison, Eve wins the starring role in a new play, which is what she has wanted since the very beginning.

The Road Back

Eve's world will never be the same. Her "road back" is more like trying to repair all the bridges she burned on her way to stardom, just in case she ever does need their help again. Eve didn't just burn those bridges, though. She napalmed them. An opportunist to the core, all of Eve's apologies are self-serving.

Resurrection

After Addison uncovers all about Eve—basically that she has been lying since the beginning—she fears that her career might be over.  However, she submits to Addison's will, becoming "his," whatever that entails, to hold on to her fame.

Return With The Elixir

Eve ends up with a literal award—the Sarah Siddons Award for being a wonderful actress. She definitely deserves it, because Eve pretends to be another person both on-stage and off. Eve doesn't quite return to where she started, but the movie does come full circle with Phoebe. Phoebe is like Eve. She is obsessive and determined to get what she wants. The cycle will repeat itself, this time with Phoebe playing Eve, and Eve playing Margo.