The Hero’s Journey Part 11 – Resurrection

Our hero is running back to his ordinary world.  Before he returns, there is one last threshold that must be crossed.

If you recall, back when our hero crossed into this mysterious world, he was another person.  Perhaps he was more naive, or weak, or egotistical.  Through the trials he has endured in the other world, he has learned valuable lessons and been transformed.  This penultimate stage is the final test of what our hero has learned.  It can be considered a form of purification, or a final shedding of what he was before.  By facing this final moment of death and rebirth, the hero transcends who he was before and can finally return to his old world.

Another consideration in regards to resurrection is what role it plays in the character arc.  In researching plot, the statement “your plot is your characters” or some version thereof, will often be encountered.  Most plot, including those based on the hero’s journey, are about a character moving from ignorance to enlightenment.  Think of the number of romantic comedies that start with a main character who is self-absorbed and a terror in relationships.  By story’s end, this character realises their faults and is “reborn” as a new man/woman who is capable of having a meaningful relationship.  The resurrection point is where the character becomes self-aware.  As an audience, we have watched the hero change.  We know who the hero has become, but for them to truly make that new persona last, the hero must become aware of it themselves.  This moment of self-awareness, where the character realises their own transformation, gives birth to the new persona that will become the hero’s truth.

Remember, there was a reason the hero set out to begin with.  In that time, the hero was not capable of achieving his goals.  He had to train, defeat threshold guardians, face ordeals and in general, transform himself to accomplish his quest.  Now that the quest has essentially been complete, the hero needs to truly realise who he has become so that he can live in the world as this new person.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow put Self-Actualisation as the highest point in his heirarchy of needs.  Resurrection is the moment of your hero’s self-actualisation.