Part 2 – The Labyrinth Navigated
Cult of Deception – The heroine discovers an intricate pattern of deceptions within the Labyrinth. Many times, she learns that the deceptions are aimed at her, designed to thwart or stymy her unwelcomed passage through the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth provides avenues and intersections, traps and hidden doors, riddles, and fiercely guarded secrets. Others dwell within the maze. They try trick the heroine or thwart her escape. False allies, misinformation, and insincere assistance are her norm.
The Three Chambers – As the heroine begins navigating the dangerous corridors of her Native Culture, she will have to make progress deeper into the maze. She discovers and must enter separate chambers that hide magical and bizarre realities. Each of these chambers contains a personal challenge, a puzzle, and a piece of wisdom that will help her solve the Labyrinth and bring her closer to the Hidden Minotaur. The interior of each chamber will fascinate or frighten the heroine, but she is not meant to stay.
Chamber Guardians – These are very similar to Threshold Guardians, who challenge the passage of the Hero as they attempt to move out and away from the Home on a linear jounrney. The difference is that Chamber Guardians are often members of the Native Culture and represent the occupant of each Chamber. They are essentially the masters of the chamber who challenge the heroine. Rather than combat, the heroine must overcome each Chamber Guardian with social skills, wit, and courage.
Intuitive Power – Most Hero’s Journey models place a great emphasis on physical training and mastery of skills. However, with most modern-day heroines, while training is part of her experience and important, it is also deemphasized in the Labyrinth. Trusting her instincts parallels trust in herself. Because deception and confusion are constant weapons used against the heroine, she places a great value on intuition.
The Beast as Ally – The heroine often meets a beast-like archetype, often masculine, who in many ways, shares the appearance of her enemies or even the Masked Minotaur himself. Although this beast displays many of the behaviors of the monsters she opposes, he will recognize the courage of the heroine and come to respect her. She gains the loyalty of the Beast and he willingly assists her as a heroic partner. The Beast as Ally is a persistent theme that recurs a lot in pop culture.
Sympathy for the “Other” – The Hero’s Journey relies on a foreign or distant enemy that must be confronted and defeated. However, within the Native Culture, the heroine often comes to sympathize with the stigmatized “others” within her Native Culture. She may even come to view the so-called others as victims that she seeks to protect. Perhaps due to her skepticism of her Native Culture or her desire to unmask and defeat the Hidden Minotaur, the heroine in the Labyrinth may resolve to free the persecuted suppressed others of her Native Culture.
Tradition Breaker – The heroine also has a knack for changing cultural norms. Quite often through her journey within the labyrinth, she encounters rules or cultural barriers with which she disagrees. She is willing to challenge certain traditions, ignore territorial boundaries, or disobey accepted authority. Her voice strongly challenges gender roles and social norms, two aspects she views as oppressive.
The Broken Truce – The persistence of the heroine typically escalates until her passage through the Labyrinth threatens the Masked Minotaur. Too many times, the heroine’s own Native Culture turns against her. The Fragile Truce (in part 1) is broken and she is either hunted or outcast. Even those she trusted often defend the Native Culture over the heroine. Suddenly, the many confusing corridors of the Labyrinth no longer represent puzzles to be solved, but dead ends and a return to captivity.
The Poisoned Apple – As the heroine gains a degree of mastery and skill within the Labyrinth, there is usually a focused effort by the Masked Minotaur to thwart but not kill her. This comes in the form of the poisoned apple. The poisoned apple is an important symbolism because it represents, in some way, the intent of the Minotaur to convert the heroine into a partner, rather than viewing her as a true combatant that he must defeat. She is “poisoned” and is left restrained, disoriented, or unconscious, almost always with the Masked Minotaur hovering over her. This imagery is stunningly recurrent in story.
Unmasking the Hidden Minotaur – The Masked Minotaur, who has been either hidden from the heroine, or whose dark side has been hidden from the Native Culture, is finally unmasked. The heroine’s skills and intuition have led her to face her worst fears–a direct confrontation against the Minotaur at the center of the Labyrinth. The overtures of benevolence by the Minotaur are suspended and he finally chooses combat with the heroine instead of conversion. Unmasked, the Minotaur summons all his power, deception, and cruelty to destroy the heroine and all who follow her.
Read Part 1
Read Part 3