The Hero's Healing Journey: Exploring Kaladin Stormblessed's journey from depression to resilience in The Stormlight Archive.

Abstract

The following thesis aims to explore how Joseph Campbell’s idea about using myths as helping tools translates to modern fictional literature, by framing Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive as a healing myth. This is done by connecting modern psychiatric ideas on healing, with literary theories on how and why we read. I reflect upon one of the protagonists of The Stormlight Archive named Kaladin and his literary journey through depression. I argue that the core of his journey is about healing trauma, and becomes the frame to understand what I have chosen to call the hero’s healing journey. Where the hero’s healing journey differs from Campbell’s hero’s journey is that in Campbell’s version the hero does not necessarily need personal growth to complete their trials. Personal growth is however the foundation of the hero’s healing journey, and is both the reason the hero prevails, and the reason for starting a healing journey to begin with.