Critical Introduction to “The Fire Within: A Modern Heroine’s Journey”

Throughout this course I have seen time and time again the ways in which myth can provide insight into culture and symbolism. I have also become more aware of the reality that we all have struggles to overcome. Through the monomyth, a hero’s rise to meet their calling, willingness to overcome and make sacrifices in order to transform oneself was incredibly motivational to me as a struggled with my own reality this semester. In David Leeming’s The World of Myth, Joan of Arc is described as being “… driven by a power with in” this description motivated my understanding that we all hold a power within in to make a difference in our lives. I was deeply inspired by this statement to write this original myth “The Fire Within: A Modern Heroine’s Journey” as an inspiration to those who struggle with internal battles to find the power within.

“The Fire Within: A Modern Heroine’s Journey” is a contemporary myth set in a remote mountain town, reflecting a modern Western cultural background where conformity and emotional suppression are prevalent. The protagonist of this story, Alexandra, navigates a world that mirrors the challenges faced by many adolescents today. These challenges include mental health struggles, institutionalization, and familial estrangement. The setting serves as a microcosm of societal tendencies to marginalize those who deviate from the norm, highlighting the internal and external battles of those who experience adverse mental health. Though traditional myths often depict external adventures, this story focuses on the protagonist’s internal transformation to highlight personal growth and resilience in the face of adversity.

This story focuses on the personal journey of a teenage girl who must find her internal strength in order to overcome her isolation, she does so through Joseph Campbell’s concept of the monomyth. Alexandra is lost to her own grief and depression feeling overwhelming hopelessness toward her life.  In order to overcome this grief, she must embark on a journey to set herself free. “The hero is the man of self-achieved submission.” (Campbell, 16). As Alexandra is first called to adventure through the discovery of her mother’s photo, her fear of being found out for looking into her past overcomes her desire to pursue the “fire”. Yet, she can’t seem to silence the drive to understand what her mother means by her fire and the desire to find her mother.

Upon answering the call Alexandra enters the world of the forest, where she is forced to confront her internal relationship with her past. This entry to another world is similar to that of Hanahpu and Xbalanque from Michael Bazzett’s translation of The Popul Vuh. Both narratives involve a journey into the unknown, encounters with trials, and a return transformed. The Hero Twins descend to the underworld to confront death and emerge victorious, symbolizing themes of resilience and transformation. “Next they went into the fire, a house where only fire lives. It holds only crackling flames, but they were not burned.” (Bazzett 167).  The twins face each challenge with the bravery that they will overcome regardless of the dangers. Alexandra responds to the challenges in the forest in a similar manner. Though she is afraid, her desire to meet the challenge drives her face here fears.

Through Carl Jung’s concept of archetypes and the collective unconscious provides a lens through which to analyze Alexandra’s journey. The forest represents the unconscious mind, and Alexandra’s psyche as Jung states, in Man and his symbols, “but the psyche is more than consciousness.” (Jung 76) Additionally, the lake serves as a mirror to the soul, while Poppy embodies the archetype of the wise old woman, a guide in the hero’s journey. Additionally, the role of fire in this story, is reflective of the burning bush which guided Moses to free the Hebrew people, as my foundation in myth stems from the Abrahamic religions. “And the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” (Leeming, 255).

The study of mythology, particularly the Hero’s Journey, significantly influenced this story. Understanding the structures and themes prevalent in myths such as Joan of Arc’s power within, and King Arthur’s magical elements that illuminate his path of destiny, provided framework for creating a myth that resonates with the universal theme of self-discovery. Drawing from personal experiences of isolation during depressive episodes and my own search for identify, I filled Alexandra’s journey with authentic emotions and challenges. Her struggles mirror those faced by many teens, making this myth relatable and poignant. The process of writing this myth was a bit of healing for myself and written with the intention of motiving others to find their internal fire.

The Fire Within: A Modern Heroine’s Journey

Alexandra lives in the mountains just outside of a small town where everyone has the same goals and ambitions, to keep life exactly as it is. Her days are filled in isolation, broken only by the requirement to attend group therapy. Yet even in this space full of people the isolation calls to her like a lost friend. Alexandra has spent the majority of her life in and out of mental health facilities. She has become accustomed to the promise that things will get better, but she is finding this harder and harder to believe. Her life has only ever gotten worse as the years have gone on. Her grandmother now has custody and reminds her regularly that no one else wants to take care of her. At nearly sixteen Alexandra has accepted her fate, she will feel like this forever.

One quiet evening, Alexandra finds a photo of her mother, slipped between the pages of an old book. Her heart stirs and a feeling like grief, or maybe the ghost of hope fills her. She flips the photo over, there is a message written on the back “If you’re reading this, the fire is still within you. Follow the fire and I’ll find you.” For a moment, Alexandra feels everything she has worked so hard not to feel. She feels a hunger for love, for truth, for an escape.

She hides the photo at the back of her closet. She dismisses the photo, the message, and the feelings along with it. Her mother is gone, she wrote that message before she gave up. Before Alexandra became a burden. She knows better than to dwell on the past. It only makes things worse. But the words won’t let go, they sit in the back of her mind quiet and constant.

The days pass, but something inside her has shifted. Alexandra pretends nothing has changed but she finds herself drifting more than usual in group, staring into the distance, replaying the words on the back of her mother’s photo over and over. She tries to drown it in her routine. School, group, silence, sleep. Yet she can’t forget, she can let it go, she doesn’t want to, not really. This is the first time she has felt hope in years.

The next weekend Alexandra asks to go camping at the family timber property. Her grandmother eyes her suspiciously but agrees, surprised Alexandra wants to do anything at all. The timber property lies deep in the woods, a remote place where even the towns insistent same ness can’t reach. With a few essentials she heads out, pretending it’s just a weekend getaway, but in her pocket, she carries the photo. As darkness falls over the dense forest, Alexandra finds herself walking without direction, as if pulled by something unseen, a magic force guiding her. She stumbles upon a path she hasn’t seen before; it feels familiar. A strange warmth overcomes her, like the fire her mother spoke of, and she steps onto the unknown trail.

As the forest is overcome by darkness Alexandra builds a small fire. Shadows stretch and flicker, voices begin to whisper. Memories of old therapy sessions, her grandmother’s cold words, angry nurses and teachers. “You’re too much” “No one will ever understand you” “Why can’t you listen” Alexandra nearly runs, thinking this is it I have finally cracked. She takes a deep breath, pulls out the photo and repeats the words aloud. “Follow the fire, and I’ll find you.” The whispers fall silent, the trees lean back, and the fire grows burning brighter. Alexandra sleeps under the stars, unafraid.

The next morning, Alexandra follows the faint trail through the gnarled branches and thick ivy. Eventually, stumbling upon an old cabin, hidden deep in the trees. A woman emerges from the back of the house. She appeared to be timeless, not old, not young with long wild hair piled atop her head, eyes like a storm, and a strange familiarity that made Alexandra’s breath catch. The woman told Alexandra she had been waiting for her and asked if she was ready. She introduced herself as Poppy, a keeper of forgotten things. She tells her that some fires go out when ignored, but others burn brighter the longer they are denied. Alexandra’s fire has drawn her here.

Poppy leads Alexandra to a small, still, reflective lake. Telling her “This is where you confront your past, all that you carry with you.” Alexandra looks into the water and sees her reflection shift through time. First her younger self, small and terrified in a hospital room, then her mother, weeping alone. Then back to herself screaming alone in a small room. One by one the images shatter. Poppy tells her “You are not just your pain but to move forward you must carry your truth with you, not as a burden but as your torch.” Alexandra steps into the icy lake, she feels her chest tighten with panic, but she pushes on. When she emerges, the words on the back of her mother’s photo have changed. “You are the fire.”

That night a dense fog rolls in separating Alexandra from Poppy. She begins to doubt if any of this was real. The photo, poppy, the lake. The fog engulfs her in fear and despair. She feels her fire burning inside and calls out, “I’m not broken. I am here, I am my own fire!” The fog thins and Alexandra’s mother appears. The two embrace silently. Alexandra wakes up beside the fire next to the path she found when she entered the forest.

Alexandra returns to town, not fixed, not cured, but undeniably different. She carries an internal fire that has survived. She does not tell her grandmother what has happened in the forest, only that she found something that was lost. She found herself and maybe even her future. The isolation no longer feels like a prison. She knows that as long as she is guided by her fire, she will be free.

Works Cited

Bazzett, Michael. The Popol Vuh: a New English Version. Milkweed Editions, 2018.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon Books, 1949.

Jung, Carl Gustav. Man & His Symbols. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1997.

Leeming, David Adams. The World of Myth: an Anthology. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Jordan A. Hamilton is a recent graduate of the College of Western Idaho, holding an Associate of Arts in Psychology. As proud member of Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges, Jordan is deeply passionate about the field and actively advocates for mental health awareness. With a strong academic foundation and a commitment to promoting emotional well-being, Jordan aims to contribute meaningfully to the psychology community and support initiatives that enhance mental health education and access.