Atonement with Self

Whereas the male-oriented hero often atones with his father, the keeper of tradition and embodiment of the native culture, the heroine must atone with herself. She broke the culture truce and has been mired by doubts, failures, and feelings of guilt or weakness. She must face herself now with the scary knowledge of her undeniable accomplishments.

Often, the heroine, not the mother figure, has modeled the behavior for others to follow. The heroine must forgive her real shortcomings, accept her strengths, and embrace the transformative powers she exerted upon her native culture. She is newly aware that other threats may arise and that her native culture could turn to her again in the future.