Heroic Journey In Henry James Daisy Miller: A Study

Carl Jung was a notable Swiss psychiatrist. He proposed many ideas, one of which included the concept of individuation. Individuation was the process by which an individual became whole by integrating the disparate parts of their psychological being into the self. This means that they must accept all parts of themselves from the dark part one represses to the male/female psyche. Jung called the individuation process a heroic journey. In Henry James ' Daisy Miller: A Study, the titular character embarks through the three stages of the heroic quest to find herself. Separation is the first stage of the hero 's journey. It can be broken into five parts: the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, supernatural aid, the crossing of the first threshold, and the belly of the whale. First, Daisy 's call to adventure came when her father sent her to Europe. It isn 't known whether or not Daisy refused the call but she chose to go because she is introduced after the fact. It can be assumed that she chose to go because recognized the need for change. She embarked on the trip with three people: Mrs. Miller, Randolph Miller, and a guide. Mrs. Miller, Daisy 's mother, which represented an aspect of Daisys ' anima, most …show more content…
It is broken up into six parts: the road of trials, the meeting with the goddess, man as temptor, atonement with the father, apotheosis, and the boon. However, the road of trials is not truly a separate- it encompasses her entire trip throughout room. Daisy 's first step on the road of trails is the meeting with the goddess. The goddess that she encountered is in the person of Mrs. Walker. In some cases ' this goddess can be another aspect of the hero 's anima, but in Daisys ' Mrs Walker could represent her shadow. In either case, the goddess catalyst for the understanding of life and death. For Daisy this is the understanding of social life and social death. And Daisy does experience a social