Before we start: I want to apologize for the length of this entry. The middle section is mostly just comparison of Aerin to both the hero and heroine’s journeys, incorporating details from Frankel’s website, so it grew to be quite long overall. 

The hero’s journey and the heroine’s journey, overall, are quite similar: they follow the same basic pattern, but the hero’s journey separates some steps out where the heroine’s condenses them, or some aspects of the step may be minutely changed to reflect more femininity.

For example, while both journeys have a step that involves a mentor and gifts, the heroine’s gifts will tend to be a household object (I immediately think of Rapunzel’s frying pan in Tangled, but another example is Cinderella’s shoes) or (if a weapon) a long-distance weapon (bow or whip). After fairly thoroughly comparing the hero’s and the heroine’s journey (more information on Frankel’s model found on her website, link at end), I decided to compare The Hero and The Crown to both and see which applied better to Aerin.

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Many of the steps are similar, as I stated before, which gave me the general frame to compare Aerin to. I skipped the first few steps and started with the mentor/supernatural aid (because the first three steps are the same). Aerin doesn’t have a supernatural mentor or aid, but she does receive earthly instruction from Tor and her father. However, it is important to note her gifts: Talat, a sword and spears, and her fireproof salve. Talat is more of a sidekick than a gift, but the weaponry demonstrate fully “masculine” gifts (both are close distance weapons). However, the salve falls into a more-feminine category as a household-good (though more magical than the usual lotions).

The next step, crossing the threshold, is the same for both journeys: her first dragon-killings. The act of killing the dragons permanently changes Aerin emotionally and mentally, which also prompts the beginning stages of her widespread, public acceptance. Afterward, we temporarily skip the hero’s “belly of the whale” and both journeys’ weddings (Aerin doesn’t have any romantic leanings until the end of the novel). Thus, we move on to the heroine’s “helpless father” step, where Aerin returns home; unlike the image of the father as unhelpful to her journey, Aerin’s interaction with her father is one of asking permission… both at the initial return and before he goes to battle (the first scene of the novel as a whole). Then we move to the heroine’s “defeat of the shadow” and the hero’s “belly of the whale,” where Aerin fights Maur and is grievously injured.

 

The next step doesn’t occur until Aerin goes to Luthe. Interestingly, the next stage for each gender’s journey vary more than most of the rest of the journey, but Aerin accomplishes both in this scene. Atonement with the Mother has the daughter supplant her mother, which Aerin does as she heals: comparisons with her mother shows how Aerin is replacing her, not physically but in her place of hero. Atonement with the Father involves the hero confronting and being initiated by a holder of the ultimate power (magic). This occurs while Luthe teaches Aerin about her history and trains her in magical ability/magic use. This is the moment where Aerin demonstrates her ability to transcend gender norms in order to fulfill the steps and training both journeys’ necessitate.

The next few steps are highly similar, regardless of gender: Aerin completes her journey to defeat the evil corrupting the North (her uncle), returns to Luthe quickly, and is momentarily distracted from her return home by Luthe. However, despite the overall similarities, the heroine’s journey has no “rescue from without” equivalent. Aerin’s journey does involve this stage: when Luthe magically pulls her through time to her proper era, because climbing the stairs and falling both took centuries to complete, and she needed to return home properly. This prompts her temporary distraction from returning home, where she instead stays with Luthe momentarily before she continues her journey. Once home, Aerin helps fight and win against the invaders, before she takes her place amid the heroes and nobility in the aftermath. 

Like the earlier step where a distinct gender difference is evident, the final steps for both journeys have gendered implications. Aerin again completes both the final steps of the journeys at once, continuing her destruction (or mutual fulfillment) of gender norms. The Ascension to New Mother is evident through her ability to negotiate her “not-quite” mortality and her complete self-acceptance (self-recognition instead of public recognition), where she self-recognizes her ability and worth and no longer worries about her status as witch’s child. She fulfills the Freedom to Live in her ability to continue on without regret of the past or fear/anticipation of the future; she simply resolves to live her mortal life with Tor and someday return to Luthe.

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In the end, Aerin demonstrates major components of both the hero and the heroine’s journeys. While the main stages are the same, her femininity aligns her with many pieces of the heroine’s journey, but she also incorporates visibly masculine traits (weaponry) and follows some stages of the hero’s journey which are not part of the heroine’s.

 

I used Valerie Frankel’s website and online breakdown of the heroine’s journey liberally in this comparison. Some of the details she discusses on her website are not self-evident in the chart in the book. Her explanations of the differences from her heroine’s journey model and the well-known hero’s journey demonstrate the minute differences between the two models and show the gendered, differing reality for why the heroine’s journey was necessary. I include the link here for any readers or responders to see what I establish my argument in: http://www.frankelassociates.com/calithwain/Heroine.htm