Chapter V, The Hero's Adventure Summary and Analysis

This chapter contains references to Campbell's previously published book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." As the chapter title indicates the subject is a specific form of myth or legend in which a single individual leaves his existing world and embarks on a journey to find something or someone. In the course of his journey the individual faces challenges, dangers and temptations, all of which he overcomes to return, as a hero, with the object of his quest. As pointed out by Otto Rank in his book "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero," this generalized sequence of events could be considered to encompass the development of an individual's life from the trauma of leaving the womb at birth, throughout the various stages of life until the final conclusion. With this in...