The Hero's Quest and the Cycles of Nature: An Ecological Interpretation of World Mythology

by Rachel S. McCoppin

Overview

This examination of the heroic journey in world mythology casts the protagonist as a personification of nature--a "botanical hero" one might say--who begins the quest in a metaphorical seed-like state, then sprouts into a period of verdant strength. But the hero must face a mythic underworld where he or she contends with mortality and sacrifice--embracing death as a part of life. For centuries, humans have sought superiority over nature, yet the botanical hero finds nothing is lost by recognizing that one is merely a part of nature. Instead, a cyclical promise of continuous life is realized, in which no element fully disappears, and the hero's message is not to dwell on death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476625751
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/13/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	483,725
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rachel S. McCoppin is a professor of literature at the University of Minnesota Crookston. She has published in the areas of mythology, comparative literature, and multicultural pedagogy in scholarly books and journals.
Rachel S. McCoppin is a professor of literature at the University of Minnesota Crookston. She has published in the areas of mythology, comparative literature, and multicultural pedagogy in scholarly books and journals.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. From Seeds and Sprouts to Branching Out
2. Caves and the Underworld
3. Death and Sacrifice
4. Natural Apotheosis and the Resurrection of the Botanical Hero
Conclusion
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Will make the reader think deeply about both myths that are familiar to them and those that are not. I recommend it as an interesting review of old stories in a fresh way that points out their relevance (or lack thereof) to our current ecological state.”—Mythlore

From the Publisher