The Hero with a Thousand Faces Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 2: Chapter 4, Sections 1 and 2 Summary

Part 2: Chapter 4, Sections 1 and 2 Summary and Analysis

This chapter discusses mythological representations of death - of both the individual and the universe, which are both inevitable and both manifestations of the cosmogonic cycle.

"Dissolutions" - "End of the Microcosm" Death, for the man-hero as well as the ordinary man, is portrayed by Campbell in this section as an opportunity for re-union with the Unmoved Mover (God, the Great Mystery, Great Spirit, etc.). The journey into that re-union, according to many myths, can be as dangerous and full of challenges as the journey into life - indeed, as dangerous as the Hero Journey into enlightenment. Here, Campbell suggests, is the reason why death is, and has always been, marked by detailed, mythically grounded prayer and ritual. He includes a lengthy excerpt from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, in which specific references are made to the parts of the human body that become one with the parts...
(read more)