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The First Act of the human experience—roughly the first thirty years—may be thought of as a period of Initiation. It is a period of integrating the parts of one’s self. In many ways, it is a period in which the overarching, symbolic antagonist may be thought of as Fear. We use the arcs of this period to overcome Fear and discover our own empowerment as individuals within the world.
As with all of the three periods that encompass these archetypal “life arcs,” the First Act is made up of two partner arcs, each leading into the other, each vitally important to mature development. The second of these arcs is perhaps the most popularly known of any archetypal character arc—the Hero. But the Hero Arc cannot successfully launch the youthful person into adulthood unless it is founded upon the lessons learned from a completed Maiden Arc.
Because the Hero Arc is told almost to the complete exclusion (at least consciously) of the other life arcs—particularly the feminine and “elder” arcs—we don’t find a wealth of study in writing these other arcs, which is a deep shame since it means that both society and the individual misses out on the guidance of stories from other equally vital parts of life. It also means writers often feel they have but one primary model upon which to build stories. Instinctively, I think we all reject this—and yet where are the other models?
The answer is that at least some of them are now arising (or rather reemerging). The feminine arcs in particular are beginning to find voices. Within the last half century, more and more writers, psychologists, and social historians are offering models for these under-explored female arcs. I want to quickly reference some of these to indicate where I believe their models line up with the six life arcs. Some of these books were written for writers, some not.
First, we have Maureen Murdock’s The Heroine’s Journey—which I see as basically a female perspective on the Hero Arc.
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock (affiliate link)
In her book 45 Master Characters, Victoria Lynn Schmidt presents her own take on essentially the same approach as Murdock’s.
45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt (affiliate link)
Recently, paranormal romance author Gail Carringer wrote a book also titled The Heroine’s Journey. I see her discussion lining up nicely with the Queen Arc, which we’ll be exploring later in the series.
The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carringer (affiliate link)
And finally, and more to the point of this specific post, screenwriter Kim Hudson examines the feminine counterpart to the Hero’s Journey, which she calls The Virgin’s Promise.
The Virgin’s Promise by Kim Hudson (affiliate link)
Aside from attributing some of the sources I’ve found invaluable in studying this subject, I highlight this primarily to indicate that there are different feminine arcs just as there are different masculine arcs. It’s also worth noting that there is often crossover in the models of these archetypal arcs and sometimes even in the arcs themselves. This is not an exact science. What I’m presenting in this series is simply my take on the subject—what I’ve found rings true for me in my own life’s journey and in writing my characters’ journeys. As ever in all things story theory, you should always heed your own instincts (which understand archetypes much more deeply than any of our rational minds do anyway) in reconciling any parallels or inconsistencies.
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