The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Campbell compares mythology to the god Proteus in this final section, since mythology can’t be interpreted according to a single methodology. According to Homer’s The Odyssey, Proteus is a shapeshifter who only discloses himself to those who clutch him. He repeats a supplicant’s questions and answers with varying degrees of clarity, then descends to his undersea cave.

The great thinkers have rendered mythology in several ways: as former generations’ view of natural phenomena; poetry; didactic allegory; collective dream; spiritual exploration and wisdom; and God-breathed scripture (382). Mythology can be adapted for many uses, as each person and group views it differently.

An individual person cannot be the composite human, for the person is limited by sex, age, and vocation. The “fullness of man” (383) can only be located in the group, of which the individual is a direct product. The one who separates from the group has separated from himself.

Societal roles are enforced by certain rituals such as “birth, marriage, burial, installation” (383). People occupy these roles to place them firmly in the social structure and to preserve the community, which will last beyond the lives of its individual members. The social outcast cannot experience this assurance and has no value for the group.