The Mistaken Heart Model: The Superset of the Heroine’s Journey, Chaotic Rites of Passage and Downfall Stories

Abstract
Although some scholars and key opinion leaders assert that Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey encompasses all narrative structures, most analysts acknowledge its limitations in addressing diverse story types and human experiences. Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey (1990) offers a counterpoint by focusing on female healing and integration, effectively challenging the notion that Campbell’s model serves as a universal elixir. However, Murdock’s framework remains somewhat narrow, tailored primarily to female psychological arcs.  
This article proposes a broader framework—the Mistaken Heart Model (MHM)—which integrates and generalizes the Heroine’s Journey and Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! "Rites of Passage" model. Designed as a superset, the MHM not only encompasses these but also extends to other narrative forms such as downfall stories. Like its subset, the Heroine’s Journey, the MHM runs parallel to the Hero’s Journey—neither can contain the other.  
The analysis further clarifies symbolic orientation: the Hero’s Journey is more animus-oriented, emphasizing outward drive, conquest, and mastery, while the MHM is more anima-oriented, emphasizing emotional depth, intuition, and relational sensitivity. As both animus and anima are qualities that reside universally within the psyche, the Hero’s Journey and MHM are both gender-neutral. This perspective corrects common misunderstandings, particularly the misconception that the Hero’s Journey is exclusively for men.  

full article:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/142935090

diagram:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/141402195

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