The Hero's Journey: All 12 Stages Explained with Examples
The hero's journey explained: Joseph Campbell's monomyth, Christopher Vogler's 12 stages with examples from myths, fairy tales and films, and how to use it.
In this article
The hero's journey is a story pattern in which a hero leaves an ordinary world, faces trials in an unfamiliar world, wins a reward through a great ordeal, and returns home transformed. Mythologist Joseph Campbell described it in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), calling it the "monomyth." Story consultant Christopher Vogler later simplified it into 12 stages for screenwriters, which is the version most writers use today.
The 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey
| # | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ordinary World | We meet the hero in everyday life |
| 2 | The Call to Adventure | A problem or opportunity appears |
| 3 | Refusal of the Call | The hero hesitates out of fear or duty |
| 4 | Meeting the Mentor | A guide offers advice, training or a gift |
| 5 | Crossing the Threshold | The hero commits and enters the special world |
| 6 | Tests, Allies and Enemies | The hero learns the rules and faces challenges |
| 7 | Approach to the Inmost Cave | The hero prepares for the major challenge |
| 8 | The Ordeal | The hero faces death or their greatest fear |
| 9 | The Reward | The hero gains the treasure, knowledge or prize |
| 10 | The Road Back | The hero heads home, often pursued |
| 11 | The Resurrection | A final test where the hero is transformed |
| 12 | Return with the Elixir | The hero returns with something that benefits the world |
Each Stage Explained
1. The Ordinary World
Show who the hero is before the adventure, including a lack or flaw. The contrast with the special world makes the journey meaningful.
2. The Call to Adventure
Something disrupts normal life: a message, a threat, an opportunity, a loss.
3. Refusal of the Call
The hero says no, at least at first. This shows the stakes and makes the hero human.
4. Meeting the Mentor
A wise figure (a wizard, teacher, fairy godmother, old woman) provides guidance or a magical gift. In fairy tales, this is often someone the hero treated kindly.
5. Crossing the Threshold
The hero commits and enters the unknown. This usually marks the end of Act One in the three-act structure.
6. Tests, Allies and Enemies
The hero learns how the new world works, makes friends and enemies, and faces smaller trials.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
The hero nears the central danger, the place where the greatest challenge waits, and prepares.
8. The Ordeal
The central crisis: the hero faces death, a great enemy or their deepest fear. Something must "die," literally or symbolically, so the hero can be reborn.
9. The Reward
Having survived, the hero seizes the sword, the treasure, the knowledge, or the love.
10. The Road Back
The hero turns toward home but faces consequences, pursuit, or a new crisis.
11. The Resurrection
A final, climactic test where the hero must use everything they've learned. They emerge fundamentally changed.
12. Return with the Elixir
The hero comes home with something that heals or helps their community: wisdom, a cure, treasure, love.
Example: The Snow Queen as a Hero's Journey
Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen follows the journey closely, with a girl as the hero:
| Stage | The Snow Queen |
|---|---|
| Ordinary World | Gerda and Kai's rose-filled windows |
| Call to Adventure | Kai disappears with the Snow Queen |
| Refusal | Gerda believes Kai is dead, until the river and sunshine tell her otherwise |
| Mentor | The Finn woman, who reveals Gerda's inner power |
| Threshold | She leaves home on the river |
| Tests, Allies, Enemies | The flower witch, the crow, the prince and princess, the robber girl, the reindeer |
| Ordeal | The frozen palace; the Snow Queen's snowflake guards |
| Reward | Finding Kai |
| Resurrection | Her tears melt his frozen heart |
| Return with the Elixir | They return home, grown-up yet childlike, carrying love and faith |
Read the full tale in our Snow Queen summary.
Example: Momotaro
The Japanese tale of Momotaro is a compact hero's journey: born from a peach (special origin), called to fight demons, gifted dumplings by his parents, joined by allies (dog, monkey, pheasant), confronts the oni on Demon Island (ordeal), and returns with treasure (elixir).
Campbell's Original 17 Stages
Campbell's version has three main phases (Departure, Initiation, Return) and 17 stages, including "Belly of the Whale," "The Meeting with the Goddess," "Atonement with the Father" and "Master of Two Worlds." Vogler's 12 stages compress these for practical storytelling. Vogler first circulated his ideas in a 1985 memo at Disney and later published The Writer's Journey.
How to Use the Hero's Journey in Your Writing
- Use it as a diagnostic tool, not a formula. Check whether your story has a clear call, a real ordeal and a meaningful return.
- Rearrange or skip stages. Not every story needs every step.
- Make the inner journey match the outer journey. The physical ordeal should test the hero's emotional flaw.
- Subvert it. Many great stories play against expectations: the mentor betrays, the reward is a curse, the hero doesn't return.
Criticisms of the Hero's Journey
- It can lead to formulaic stories if followed too rigidly.
- Critics argue it centers a particular kind of individual, often male, heroic quest, and doesn't fit every culture's stories.
- Writers like Maureen Murdock have proposed alternatives, such as The Heroine's Journey (1990), focusing on inner transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created the hero's journey?
Joseph Campbell described it in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Christopher Vogler adapted it into 12 stages for writers.
What are the 12 stages of the hero's journey?
Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests/Allies/Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, The Road Back, Resurrection, and Return with the Elixir.
What is the monomyth?
Campbell's term for the idea that hero myths across cultures share a common underlying pattern.
Do all stories follow the hero's journey?
No. It fits many adventure and fantasy stories well, but many great stories use other structures.
What is the difference between the hero's journey and three-act structure?
The three-act structure divides a story into setup, confrontation and resolution. The hero's journey is a more detailed pattern of stages that can be mapped onto those three acts.
