Meeting the Goddess

In his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell illustrates how nearly all the classic myths and legend of the past follow the same archetypical outline. While different stories may focus on different aspects of the cycle, the different symbols and images can be stripped away to reveal the same fundamental framework at the core.

But what is the ultimate point of all this? As I have mentioned in other articles, the ultimate purpose of the hero -- and the hero cycle -- is to serve as a symbol for our own life. The hero sets an example of the way to live a human life -- often in the specific cultural heritage the legend originates from. Still, the same fundamental message can be found in traditions from a diverse array of cultures and time periods. Love and respect for your fellow man is the foundation of a good and healthy life.

That sounds a lot like the message Xena and Gabrielle carry with them, doesn't it?

I have received positive and negative feedback about this series. Diana Laskaris sent me a message thanking me for examining the mythic resonance that can be found in the series. She's been doing research of her own in this field, and loves to see classic themes appear in modern pop culture. Some things never go out of style, right?

I also got a message in the discussion forum at Suite101 from "Samfan" who doesn't like the in-depth academic bent of these articles. He points out that Xena is just a TV show, and there's no need to analyze it like some high school English text (my words).

I can understand that point of view. There is certainly something to be said for enjoying Xena as sheer entertainment. It is, after all, just a TV show -- a forty-two and a half minute tale presented to us each week. Do we really need to focus on every last detail?

I would respond that the old myths and legend are, ultimately, nothing more than stories either. They have the weight of history behind them, and perhaps that gives them more gravity and "academic value." But I read about Zeus, Perseus, and Odysseus for sheer enjoyment and pleasure as well. Does that mean, ultimately, that the analyses of Professor Campbell are invalid? That simply because the legend of Gilgamesh is fiction from long before the Roman Empire it can't speak to me as a man of the twenty-first century?

I have two ultimate goals with this series. The first is to show that there are more similarities between Xena: Warrior Princess and classic myth than may be first apparent. If the old tales can speak to us (and they still do today) why can't a new legend speak to us as well?

My other goal is a bit loftier. I would, ultimately, encourage people to think about their entertainment instead of just sitting and absorbing it. Sure, it's just a TV show, and a great way to kill an hour on a rainy afternoon. But what message is the series conveying? Do you agree with that message? Why or why not? What does the series say about life on Earth in the late twentieth century?

Sure, the series is rip-roaring entertainment. That's why it originally captured my attention. But there are depths to the series that should be explored -- at least, in my opinion.

You may not feel the need to explore these themes. That's fine. But I enjoy talking about this subject, and find that the analysis and debate that results from studies like this is both engrossing and enlightening. It isn't just about a TV show -- it is about life.

Still, I'm open to feedback -- please, let me know what you think about this series (and others like it). Ultimately a writer is only as good as his audience, and I don't mind talking about other things if you really have no interest in this subject. Drop me a line and let me know your thoughts.

The Meeting With The Goddess

The ultimate adventure, when all barriers and ogres have been overcome, is commonly represented as a mystical marriage of the triumphant hero-soul with the Queen Goddess of the World. This is the crisis at the nadir, the zenith, or at the uttermost edge of the earth, at the central point of the cosmos, in the tabernacle of the temple, or within the darkness of the deepest chamber of the heart. -- Campbell, p. 109

The next few stages in Campbell's analysis deal with different symbols that fundamentally represent the same thing -- the hero's attainment of the ultimate boon. This prize is what must be won by the hero and returned to renew the world.

Does this specific symbol manifest in the "myth" of Xena and Gabrielle? If you had asked me at the end of season five, I most likely would have said no; this specific symbol is the realm of the male hero.

But a sixth season episode caused me to reevaluate this point of view. In Return of the Valkyrie, Rob Tapert bends Norse mythology (most specifically the legend of the Ring of Nibelung) in a new direction. Xena and Gabrielle are substituted for Siegfried and Brunhilda. The climax of the Xenaverse version plays out much like the original myth -- Siegfried awakens Brunhilda with a kiss, and the two are united as one.

The original version clearly fits this stage, so wouldn't the Xenaverse version fit as well?

Of course it would -- and it doesn't require a "subtextual" reading in order to make it fit. It has been pointed out time and again throughout the series that Gabrielle represents to Xena everything that she is fighting for. From Xena's impassioned prayer in Return of Callisto to Adventures in the Sin Trade -- even to the Norseland story arc, we know that Gabrielle is a symbol of Xena's quest for redemption.

In The Way Xena talks with Krishna and is granted the knowledge that her path is the right one. While the gender roles are reversed in this case (the hero is female, while the deity is male), it is another example of the meeting with the goddess.

Gabrielle has a version of this stage in her own journey as well. In Fallen Angel, after her personal crisis and spiritual quest of the fourth season (a quest that resulted in her death), she is faced with the task of putting a stop to Xena's demonic horde.

In order to achieve this end (and ultimately be reunited with Xena) she encounters Callisto, purified by Xena's self-sacrifice. It is only when she forgives and embraces Callisto that she is given the power to stop Xena. The symbolism isn't as blatant, but it still fits this stage of the journey.

As Professor Campbell said, "[t]he meeting with the goddess... is the final test of the talent of the hero to win the boon of love, which is life itself enjoyed as the encasement of eternity." (Campbell, pg. 118)

When Xena and Gabrielle embrace their roles as warriors for good, and embrace their love for one another, they obtain the ultimate prize. All that is needed after that is to carry its restorative and transforming power to the world.

But that is a study for another day.

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