THE HEROINE WITH 1,001 FACES
I’m excited to dive into folklore scholar Maria Tatar’s new book, THE HEROINE WITH 1,001 FACES. In the book, Tatar takes aim at Joseph Campbell’s seminal text THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, in which he unpacks the structures and symbols of “the hero’s journey” and other fundamental myths and stories. Campbell claims that there were three purposes for women in these foundational stories: “one, to give us life; two, to be the one who receives us in death; and three, to inspire our spiritual, poetic realization.” Tatar, finally, is calling bullshit. She doesn’t attack Campbell’s analysis outright, but rather labels it incomplete. Tatar looks at characters from Jo March to Wonder Woman, forming her own list of characteristics that define a heroine. I can’t wait to start reading and learn more about what she’s found!
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
