Mythological Reading of Graphic Novel of Rostam's Seven Labours with the Approach of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Graphic design, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran, Corresponding Author.

2 PhD Student of Art Research, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran. Iran.

10.22051/pgr.2024.44968.1214

Abstract

 
 
A huge part of Iran’s epic literature originates from fairy tales and folk tales. One of the research indicators related to these stories is mythological studies. In other words, a myth is a story within the framework of mythology, that is, a system and a coherent collection of old inherited stories that were once seen by a group of real people. Stories based on the intentions and actions of supernatural beings explained why things are the way they are and why things happen the way they do. On the other hand, the reflection of mythology in ancient Iranian epic stories such as the Shahnameh and the transmission of its themes is the basis for the connection of graphic novels with narratives of the valuable heritage of the past. One of these narratives is Rustam’s Seven Labours in Shahnameh, the events of this journey can be analysed from the point of view of mythology with the archetypal components of Campbell’s Hero's Journey (departure, visit and return). From Joseph Campbell’s point of view, the discovered and understood archetypes are actually those that have evoked mythological, inspirational and ritual images throughout human history and culture. But they should not be confused with the personal symbolic figures that appear in the nightmares and agitations of the anxious person. Based on this, Campbell researched and researched the hero and finally created the result of his work in a book titled "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". According to him, all texts and mythologies of the world's heroism have a single narrative structure, and he has considered a core that includes the three parts of departure, appreciation and return, for all texts and mythologies of the world's heroism. Therefore, from Campbell’s point of view, a hero is someone who masters his personal or native characteristics and transcends them to reach a useful and usually human form. Therefore, the steps of Campbell’s hero's journey are as follows: departure, indicates a campaign to find a person or a charm or a charm that after its acquisition and return, fertility is restored to a barren land. The destruction of this land is a reflection of the illness and incapacity of its leader. In order to save his country, get his beautiful and favourite lady and prove his identity in order to establish his rightful status, the protagonist must do some extraordinary actions. Honour, usually means to enter life and is used to describe a teenager who reaches the stage of maturity and maturity. Such a person faces many problems and responsibilities in the process of growth. Awakening, awareness and more knowledge about the world and the people who live in it, usually forms the culmination of this archetypal situation. On his return, after finding the charm, the hero returns to his land to cure the drought. For each of these three stages, Campbell has stated other stages as its subset, which include the first stage: departure or separation including invitation to the adventure and rejection of the invitation, unseen assistance, crossing the first threshold, the belly of the whale. Next stage: honour ritual including the road of tests, meeting with the goddess, the woman in the role of temptress, reconciliation with the father, turning into god and the final blessing. The final stage: return including refusal to return, magical flight, saving hand from outside, crossing the threshold of return, master of two worlds, free and loose in life. Campbell calls this repetitive structure a journey. In this regard, in this article, the authors, with the aim of reading the images drawn in Rostam's Seven Labours graphic novel with the approach of joseph Campbell’s hero's journey, answer the question whether the images drawn in this graphic novel have the capacity to accept the model of joseph Campbell’s hero's journey? Regarding the research hypothesis, it can be said that it seems that the pictures of "Rustam’s Seven Labours", while following the illustrator's taste in using realistic expressions with exaggeration (in some pictures), and showing details to influence the audience's understanding of the story, with the archetypal image components of Campbell’s hero's journey it is adaptable, and in other words, you can observe these patterns in the form of images in aforementioned graphic novel. The importance and necessity of the research, the analysis of the integrated and sequential structure of the narrative, and the analysis of the related images with the desired approach for a better understanding of the audience of the hero's journey model, which has led the writers to this task. Therefore, in the present study, in addition to the research concepts and literature about the graphic novel, myth, single myth from Campbell’s point of view, the reading of the graphic novel "Rostam’s  Seven Labours" based on Campbell’s hero's journey archetype has been discussed. Also, the present article has been compiled using a descriptive-analytical method on the images of Rostam's readers by collecting materials in the form of literature review and analysing them. Regarding the statistical population of the research, among 150 examples (illustrations of Rostam's Seven Labours), 56 examples of images were selected and analysed based on Campbell’s hero's journey model. This picture book in three volumes narrated and illustrated by Mustafa Hosseini was published by Khorasan Cultural and Artistic Institute in 2014. This collection fully narrates Rostam’s Seven Labours from the beginning and with eloquent and heart-warming prose makes teenagers interested in the Shahnameh and native stories of Iran. The basis for selecting the samples among the many images was having the most readings (images) with the components of Campbell’s hero's journey model. In addition to this, the visual qualities used and the creativity of the illustrator in drawing images for a better understanding of the audience from the studied approach are other reasons for choosing the desired images and also not choosing other images, due to their similarity with each other and preventing repetition of content in the process. Regarding the analysis method of the upcoming research, in addition to identifying the diversity of images in the drawing method, paying attention to the concepts and content of images as constructive and structural patterns in Campbell’s approach is of main importance. Also, the findings of the research show that the analysis of the story of Rostam’s Seven Labours, following the criticism of Campbell’s archetype and the analysis of the images of this graphic novel, shows that the mentioned myth has the main stages proposed by Campbell (departure, honour and return) and the subset of these three main stages which it includes sub-steps and it is mentioned in the text of the article, it is fully compliant. In picture one in the text of the article, which is the reason for the beginning of Rostam's journey, the graphic novel is seen with a view of Mazandaran, and the narration of the story continues with a sequence of images of the attack of kykavus' army on divan until, in a surprise attack, Kaykavus and his troops are attacked by demons. Imprisoned and makes Kaykavus blind. The picture shows the fear of the field by showing details of this confrontation and the face of the demon. In the second picture, the conditions of the prisoner corps are depicted in a barren atmosphere and with contrasting colours of black and light. In picture three, Kaykavus informs Zal of his predicament through a courier named Pashtun. Also, in images four and five, Zal chooses his son Rostam for this important task, which also shows the interior of the palace and the conversation between Zal and Rostam. His picture shows equipment donated by father to son. From Campbell’s point of view, this sign contains the unconscious contents of a person. In the honour stage, the hero enters the test roads, which includes all the seven labours of Rostam from images seven to fourteen. In the stage of Rostam’s return and the rescue of the king of Iran in the fifteenth image, the thread of the narrative of Kaykavus and Rostam is tied together. In the windows drawn in the picture, it is mentioned that Kaykavus regains his sight and the army of demons is disintegrated by the fighting of Rostam. In this way, Rostam continues the journey as a supporter. In a summary, this research shows that in the illustrator's graphic novel, the events of the story are displayed with precise details and strong imagery. In fact, the accurate drawing of the events and the coordination of the image with the text and the general atmosphere of the story has caused the pattern of Campbell’s hero's journey to find a meaningful connection with the story in terms of imagery, for the audience to understand the main and secondary stages of Campbell. Therefore, it can be concluded that the graphic or illustrated novel can follow the text or the story and its strength with the general perspective images or with the dramatic details and especially by completing some items in the windows with writing, a suitable way to convey concepts and here the myth of the hero's journey is from Campbell’s point of view.
 

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References

 
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