The Initiation The Monomyth theory by Joseph Campbell
7 The hero may sometimes reluctantly, cautiously enter into the strange new
world. The strange world is both a place of treasures and troubles. Sometimes the hero
‘Refuses the call’ because of fear of the unknown. The troubles in the strange place, at this point for the hero, outweigh the treasures. Anxiety and uncertainty
raise his ugly heads. The hero feels comfortable in his everyday world and is unwilling or perhaps unable to cut the connection to his mother-land.
Often in actual life, and not infrequently in the myths and popular tales, we encounter the dull case of the call unanswered ; for it is
always possible to turn the ear to other interests. Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative.1949:54.
According to Campbell, now is the time to ‘Meet the Mentor’. mentor,
visit the hero and give a supernatural aid. The mentor helps the hero get past his fears. The mentor builds confidence and gives guidance. The mentor may be one
of who has been down the hero-path in the past and now offers wisdom from that experience. The mentor provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon
forces he is about to pass1949:63. For example, in the modern day myth, in the Harry Potter series
, Dumbledore served as Harry Potters mentor. Typically in myth, the mentor takes the hero only so far. The mentor
provides the amulets or magical items, but then he steps back to let the hero
‘Cross the First Threshold’ on his own. The hero must face the unknown world on his own. At the threshold gates the adventurer meets the threshold
guardians. The threshold guardians protect the passage and the hero must somehow encounters the monsters to enter the alien world. With the
personifications of his destiny to guide and aid him, the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to the [threshold guardian] at the entrance to the zone of
magnified power 1948:71.