Published : 2023-12-31

There and Back Again: A Journey Towards the Sacred. The Mythical Hero and the Eternal Wanderer: The Beginnings of Creating a Mythological Narrative Based on the Example of the Story of Bilbo Baggins

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, drawing on Joseph Campbell’s concept of monomyth. The key role is played here by heroic myths, which, focusing on story of a hero struggling with adversity, show him experiencing the help of supernatural forces and magical escape, gaining the ability to come into possession of a magical and healing artefact or knowledge, the use of which restores life and strength to the hero’s world. It demonstrates the presence of the homo viator topos in the hobbit’s adventures and characterizes the symbolic content in Bilbo’s story. In conclusion, it points to the fact that the hobbit’s adventures are almost completely compatible with the hero’s journey, thus placing The Hobbit at the beginning of creating a mythology.

Keywords:

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien, monomyth, Joseph Campbell, hero, homo viator, Bilbo Baggins, mythology



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Nakonieczna, J. (2023). There and Back Again: A Journey Towards the Sacred. The Mythical Hero and the Eternal Wanderer: The Beginnings of Creating a Mythological Narrative Based on the Example of the Story of Bilbo Baggins. Facta Simonidis, 16(2), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.56583/fs.2296

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Wydawnictwo Akademii Zamojskiej
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Akademia Zamojska
ul. Pereca 2, 22-400 Zamość
tel. 84 638 34 44
fax 84 638 35 00
e-mail: rektorat@akademiazamojska.edu.pl
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