Continuing with the series on the Hero’s Journey, today we’re
going to talk about the final stage of the mythic structure: the Return with the
Elixir. To see all the posts I’ve done so far, check out the “writing help”
navigation tab at the top of the page.
Having survived all the ordeals, the
heroes leave the Special World. Sometimes, they begin a new journey, and other
times, they go home, but in both cases, they are leaving this adventure behind
them and starting anew. They proceed with a sense that they are starting a new
life, one much different that their previous one. The reason the stage is named
Return with the Elixir is because of the idea that for the adventure to have
meant anything at all, the hero must return with something from the Special
World, proof that he actually went on the journey.
The main function of the Return is to end the story, but also to dole out final rewards and punishments. This stage reflects the restoration of balance to the world of the story, giving a sense of completion. Villains die or get their comeuppance, and heroes receive rewards (that should be) proportionate to the trials they’ve suffered, such as the Elixir. What does the hero bring back from the Special World? Bringing back the Elixir is the hero’s final test. It proves they’ve been there and it shows above all that death can be overcome. The Elixir may be an actual substance or medicine. It could be money, fame, power, love, peace, happiness, success, health, knowledge, or anything of value. If the traveler doesn’t bring back something to share, he’s not a hero. He hasn’t learned his lesson. He hasn’t grown.
The ending of a story can fall flat
if everything is resolved too neatly or just as expected. A good Return should
untie the plot threads but with a certain amount of surprise, challenging the
expectations of the reader. That doesn’t mean get to the end of your story and
go plot twist! Just as an expected ending is unsatisfying, an unearned
plot twist is even worse. Many stories fall apart in the final moments because
the ending is too abrupt, prolonged, unfocused, unsurprising, or unsatisfying.
Sometimes writers fail to bring all the elements together at the Return.
Subplot threads are left unresolved. The fates of the secondary characters and
ideas are forgotten in the shadow of the main character. All the subplots in a
story need to at least be acknowledged at the end of a story, if not resolved.
On the other hand, there may be too many subplots to be resolved, dragging the
ending along. Return of the King anyone? Many stories fail because they
have too many endings. The audience senses the story is over but the writer,
perhaps unable to choose the right ending, tries several. This is frustrating.
Keep it as simple as possible without losing the fiber of the story.
Sometimes, an ending may feel too
abrupt, giving the sense that the writer quit too soon after the climax. The
story feels incomplete without the drawing of conclusions, that final farewell
between the characters and the reader. A Return may also feel unfocused if the
dramatic questions raised in the beginning of the story go unanswered. The
writer may have failed to pose the right questions in the beginning. Think LOST.
Yes, nearly everything was tied up at the end, but the questions and the themes
that were raised at the beginning of the stories are still unanswered, and not
in a good way. Why the eff does that statue only have four toes? We’ll never
know. Either the story needs to begin with the themes the writer discovered along
the way (go, go revisions!), or the ending needs to reflect the themes from the
beginning.
There are two traditional ways to
end the Hero’s Journey. The most common is the circular form, where there is a
sense of closure and completion. The other, is the open-ended form in which
there is a sense of unanswered questions, ambiguities, and unresolved
conflicts.
In the circular form, the narrative
returns to its starting point. The Pevensies return to Professor Kirk’s house,
where their story began before entering Narnia. Frodo returns to Bag End after
destroying the One Ring. Wendy returns to her home in London after her
adventure in Neverland. Harry Potter returns to his aunt and uncle’s house
after his year at Hogwarts. Alice returns home after her adventure in
Wonderland. In this structure, the hero returns full circle, back to the
location or world where they started. Having the hero return to his starting
point or remember how they started their journey allows the reader to compare
the hero’s life before and after the adventure. It gives a measure of how far
the hero has come, how they’ve changed, and how their old world looks different
now. Generally, this is the ending most common in fairy tale type stories.
In the open-ended story form, it is
possible to create a sense of closure without returning the hero to where he
began his journey. By addressing the main dramatic questions raised at the
beginning of the story, at least the main plot and perhaps an important subplot
can be resolved. In the open-ended point of view, the story goes on after the
story is over; it continues in the minds and hearts of the reader. For example,
think of Inception. We honestly don’t
know if Cobb ends up in reality or in a dream, but we’re satisfied because it
doesn’t matter. Cobb is happy, and he doesn’t
care if he’s in reality or not because he’s home.
Open-ended stories usually leave
moral conclusions for the reader. Some questions have no answers, some have
many. Some stories end not by answering those questions, but by posing new
questions that resonate in the reader long after the story is over. Generally,
realistic stories that view the world as an ambiguous, imperfect place will
have this type of ending.
Another way to write the open-ended
story is to have the hero return to the Ordinary World, and then, because of
the growth he has experienced on his journey, he realizes he doesn’t want to go
back, and he returns to the Special World. In this type of story, the stages in
the Hero’s Journey are not easily separated or organized. The Ordeal and
Resurrection might happen at the same time, as well as the Reward and the
Return with the Elixir. The Road Back is thrown in somewhere, or it might not
happen at all. That’s the beauty of the Hero’s Journey, however. It isn’t a
rigid structure. Feel free to move stages around.
For an example of the second
open-ended story, in Tangled,
Rapunzel returns to the tower with Mother Gothel after Flynn’s betrayal, but
when she realizes her true identity, she tries to leave. Mother Gothel captures
her and tricks Flynn into entering the tower, stabbing him. Flynn cuts Rapunzel’s
hair, Pascal kills Mother Gothel, and Flynn declares his love for Rapunzel as
he dies. Rapunzel manages to heal him with a single teardrop filled with the
power of her golden hair. At this point, they leave the tower, return to the
kingdom, and Rapunzel is reunited with her mother and father, the King and
Queen. The ending is the Ordeal, Resurrection, Reward, and Return with the
Elixir all wrapped up in a twisty braid of events. Another example is in Stardust, when Tristan returns to Wall
to give Victoria a lock of Yvaine’s hair. At this point, he has already decided
that he isn’t returning to Wall. He plans to stay in Stormhold. The purpose of
his journey was to bring Victoria the fallen star, so he completes that
journey, a true Return with the Elixir. But the story isn’t over yet. He has
yet to face the Ordeal, fighting Yvaine’s witchy kidnappers. All at once,
Tristan faces the Ordeal, Resurrection, and Reward.
And so the Hero’s Journey ends.
If you have any questions about the
Hero’s Journey, don’t hesitate to ask. I know a lot more about it than I’ve
said here, and I would be happy to clear anything up, if you need me to. This
is a rather general overview, since I don’t want you guys to have to read
insanely long posts, but if you would like a more in depth analysis as it
pertains to writing, check out The
Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. If
you are just interested in the Hero’s Journey in itself, check out A Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph
Campbell.
What
examples of the Return with the Elixir can you think of from books or films
you’ve experienced lately?
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