When using the archetypal pattern of the hero’s journey to structure a story, writers can carefully look through the elements and design their characters and story around those elements. This article is the 5th in a series that explains how to use the hero’s journey pattern in writing a story. Each article explains one or more elements of the journey. This one focuses on the element called Belly of the Whale.
The Element in Psyche and Eros
In the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros, when Psyche is taken to a mountaintop as a sacrifice, she meets one of her darkest hours. On the top of the mountain, Psyche stands and awaits . . . death? A beast? Her beloved? In time, Psyche is swallowed by death, by darkness, by a swirling vortex and the winds of change.
While Psyche is swept to a place she has never seen or known, she inevitably must be in darkness to co-exist with her lover, who does not allow her to see him in the daylight. Crossing the magic threshold, according to Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is a transition into a rebirth that is “symbolized in the worldwide womb image of the belly of the whale.”
Understanding the Belly of the Whale
In this dark and foreboding place, the hero can no longer be who he or she formerly was. The former self is gone, and the work of transformation into a newer, wiser self begins. The archaeologist Ananda Coomaraswamy, as quoted by Campbell, said, “No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.” This loss of self happens in the belly of the whale.
Probably the most famous Belly of the Whale scenes are literal ones: Jonah from the Bible and Pinocchio from the children’s story. George Lucas, who designed his Star Wars trilogy around the hero’s journey, includes the pivotal scene in the first movie where Luke Skywalker is tested in the trash compactor, a claustrophobic scene where the hero must first use all of his wits to survive.
Writers should include a Belly of the Whale scene in their work if they are mirroring the hero’s journey archetype. A good way to envision this scene is to imagine a place where the testing will happen and then give a full description of it using all of the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
Then, the writer should sketch out a scene where the character encounters this crucible, perhaps with an inner monologue if he or she is alone, or in a dialogue if other characters are involved.
For the 4 preceding articles in this series see:
Journey in Words: The Hero Pattern as Writing Guide
Journey in Words: The Writing Year with the Hero’s Journey
Journey in Words: The Call to Adventure and the Refusal
Journey in Words: Supernatural Aid and Crossing the 1st Threshold
For the next article, see:
Journey in Words: Road of Trials
Reference:
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library, 2008.
Shaun Perkins - Shaun Perkins, teacher, poet, storyteller, porch-sitter, beekeeper, gardener, writer, has been a high school and university teacher for ...
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