Hey, anytime there's a dangerous quest, there's going to be a little death involved. We tend to think of death as evil, since we don't want to die and don't like it when people close to us do.
But death is really just another illusion, and immortality is one of the boons the hero might find on his or her journey. And it's not really immortality of the body, but immortality of the soul… leaving all those earthly fears behind and accepting the unending joy of the eternal cosmos.
Don't fear the reaper, Campbell says in The Hero with a Thousand Faces—we're all part of the same team.
Questions About Mortality
- How does mortality work in the Hero's Journey? Is it just a fear of death or is it something more?
- What does it mean to be immortal for Campbellian heroes?
- Is immortality bound to a specific location in the Hero's Journey? If so, what happens when the hero leaves that location?
- Who or what bestows immortality in the Hero's Journey?
Chew on This
Death is a true death in Campbell…a loss of self and the ability to affect the universe around us.
Death is just a transition to another state of being, and actually reveals our true immortal selves.