Buffy and the Heroine's Journey - by Valerie Estelle Frankel (Paperback)

About the Book

The worlds of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and other modern epics feature the Chosen One--an adolescent boy who defeats the Dark Lord and battles the sorrows of the world. Television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer represents a different kind of epic--the heroine's journey, not the hero's.
This provocative study explores how Buffy blends 1990s girl power and the path of the warrior woman with the oldest of mythic traditions. It chronicles her descent into death and subsequent return like the great goddesses of antiquity. As she sacrifices her life for the helpless, Buffy experiences the classic heroine's quest, ascending to protector and queen in this timeless metaphor for growing into adulthood.

Book Synopsis

The worlds of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and other modern epics feature the Chosen One--an adolescent boy who defeats the Dark Lord and battles the sorrows of the world. Television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer represents a different kind of epic--the heroine's journey, not the hero's. This provocative study explores how Buffy blends 1990s girl power and the path of the warrior woman with the oldest of mythic traditions. It chronicles her descent into death and subsequent return like the great goddesses of antiquity. As she sacrifices her life for the helpless, Buffy experiences the classic heroine's quest, ascending to protector and queen in this timeless metaphor for growing into adulthood.

Review Quotes

"analyzes events in each season of Buffy, to demonstrate how the series combines contemporary female teenage life with aspects of classic mythic traditions as Buffy moves through each stage of her heroine journey"--Reference & Research Book News; "a must-read...fantastic...the meticulous research and knowledge of Buffy are very obvious"--Poetic License; "for the viewer who wants a wise guide back through the darker inner circles of the Buffyverse, this book is an admirable Virgil"--Mythlore; "Frankel skillfully interweaves her knowledge of fairy tales and folklore, archetypal criticism, and psychoanalysis to reveal how the adventures of Buffy Summers, the heroine...embody the various stages of the heroine's journey. Building on her expertise on the heroine's journey, Frankel shines in her discussion of Buffy as epic...maintains an air of sophistication, supported by solid research, that scholars expect in a critical text...will surely earn a place on your own shelf"--Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts.

About the Author

Valerie Estelle Frankel teaches English at Mission College and San Jose City College. The author of more than 90 popular culture books and more than 100 stories and essays, she lives in Sunnyvale, California.