In storytelling, the heroine's journey is a female-centric version of the hero's journey template developed and inspired by various authors who felt that the Hero's Journey did not fully encompass the journey that a female protagonist goes through in a story.
The heroine's journey came about in 1990 when Maureen Murdock, a Jungian psychotherapist and a student of Joseph Campbell, published a self-help book called The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness in response to Campbell's Hero's Journey model. She developed the guide while working with her female patients. Murdock stated that the heroine's journey is the healing of the wounding of the feminine that exists deep within her and the culture. Murdock explains, "The feminine journey is about going down deep into soul, healing and reclaiming, while the masculine journey is up and out, to spirit."
Other authors such as Victoria Lynn Schmidt have created similar versions of the Heroine's Journey based on Murdock's. Schmidt's version changes some stages of Murdock's to help the model fit a bigger range of topics and experiences.
Maureen Murdock's version of the heroine's journey
Murdock's model describes the female experience of a psycho-spiritual journey. Murdock proposed a cycle of eight stages. Like the Hero's Journey, these stages are able to be removed and switched around as necessary. It begins with the breaking away from feminine ideals and the turning towards the patriarchal values. Then comes the experience of spiritual death, and turning inward to reclaim the power and spirit of the sacred feminine. The ending stages consist of union of both the masculine and feminine values.
Shift from feminine to masculine
The heroine begins to distance herself from anything deemed feminine. Often it can be portrayed as a mother figure or a traditionally female role in society. The mother will be a representation of everything the heroine hates about her femininity. The mother may also be perfect, causing the heroine to reject her femininity out of feelings of inferiority.
Winkle: "During stage one, the heroine rejects the feminine in favor of the masculine. She may still be tied to the feminine, but she increasingly resents that attachment."
Identification with the masculine
The heroine begins to identify with external masculine values. This can be portrayed as a father figure or a traditionally male role in society. The father will be a representation of freedom from the mother figure. The father would praise the heroine for her strength, but also ridicule her for her femininity. The heroine will leave her feminine values behind completely and embrace the masculine values instead.
Murdock: "This stage involves an Identification with the Masculine, but not one’s inner personal masculinity. Rather, it is the outer patriarchal masculine whose driving force is power. An individual in a patriarchal society is driven to seek control over themselves and others in an inhuman desire for perfection."
Road of trials
Similar to the Hero's Journey, the heroine faces obstacles that lead to character development. These tasks will be related to gaining success, achieving higher status, and empowerment. Contrary to the Hero's Journey, the heroine also struggles with inner conflict. These tasks will be related to conquering preconceived notions of dependency, love, and inferiority.
Winkle: "By stage three, the heroine has faced great trials and emerged victorious. She feels the thrill of success, and her confidence is bolstered by the applause of others. She has built an impressive, masculine reputation."
Experiencing the illusory boon of success
The heroine will overcome the obstacles that she faced. Upon experiencing success, the heroine will realize she has betrayed her own values in order to achieve the goal. The heroine will feel limited in her new life.
Murdock: "She has achieved everything she set out to do, but it has come at great sacrifice to her soul. Her relationship with her inner world is estranged. She feels oppressed but doesn’t understand the source of her victimization."
The descent/meeting with the goddess
Crisis falls upon the heroine and the masculine traits she has learned fail. The crisis can be death in the family, mental or physical disabilities, or loss of self identity. Here the heroine must reconcile with her feminine side. The heroine meets with a goddess figure, who represents all the positive values of femininity she has left behind. After this meeting, she is inspired to return to femininity.