Christian's Adventure to True Self: As Pearson's Wanderer Archetype Going Through Campell's Monomyth
Jean Ferris has made Christian different from other normal
children in her novel Once upon a
Marigold. Being a child bought up by a troll made Christian
different; in a
way he saved the mind-reading Princess from her evil mother. Watching
the royal
family across the river with his newly invented telescope and sending
pigeon
mails (P-mails) to the princess was Christian’s only intentions, until he
crosses
the river and decides to get a job in the castle just to see the odd,
mind-reading Princess Marigold. Christian’s purpose was innocent until
he found
out the plot of Queen Olympia to overthrow King Swithbert and kill
Marigold. Christian,
as a Wanderer Archetype has to save the princess with his unusual hero’s
quest in
order to reunite several families, and reveal his true and forgotten
identity. Christian's accomplishments are symbolic to adolescents in
revealing their own true identity through the lonesome journey of
adulthood.
As
a natural writer, Jean Ferris kept a diary since the age of seven. Her
talent of literature did not occur to her until one of her children's
friend try to commit suicide which establish the novel Amen, Moses Gardenia (1983). "I
had what I now realize was the perfect childhood for a writer" she
says. She kept a diary of what she saw, heard and felt because of
constant moving, thus the developing stories she write to herself. She
attended Stanford
University, got a B.A. and M.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology but
didn't enjoy her field of study. Her interest in English has never fade,
as she kept piles of stories in her home until one day her publication
began.(see jeanferris.com) According to Wikipedia, her awards includes:
American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, American
Library Association Popular Paperbacks for Young Readers, American
Library Association Quick Picks for Young Adults, IRA Young Adult
Choices, NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and
California Young Reader Medal.
Christian
symbolizes great characteristics of a wanderer in the novel. As a boy, he escapes
his original home as a Prince (which he later finds out) because of many rules
he needs to follow. Wanderers hated rules that bound them from their freedom,
but it is also a way to set them into their hero’s quest; to “find a treasure
that symbolically represents the gift of their true selves.” (pg.65 Pearson).
Also Christian doesn’t seem to be too concern about his family not able to find
him, but about running away from the cage he was trapped in. Christian
is bought up by a troll named Edric (Ed) in a cave, although he’s not “‘captive’
by a witch, ogre, dragon, or some other fearsome beast” (pg.67 Pearson), the place
he lived and the way Ed raised him (very independently) made him a natural
wanderer that trigger the start of his destine heroic quest to find “something
bigger, something other.” (pg.34 Ferris). When the time comes for Christian to
leave Ed, he doubts his decision while hiking up to the castle “whether he was
making a horrible mistake, trading the dull-but-comfortable known for the
scary, unpredictable unknown.” (pg.82 Ferris). Wanderers are likely to be
scared of changes, of never going back, and of the unknown, but his craving for
adventure surpasses his doubts and worries of the foreign path.
Christian's call to adventure might not be so clear in the beginning as
he already started to run away from his real family to find foreign
"treasure" or "land" that he later called home. Christian's departure
actually started when the urge to communicate with the Princess across
the river grew stronger as he grew older. According to Campell "This
fateful region of both treasure and danger may be variously
represented: as a distant land, a forest, a kingdom underground, beneath
the waves, or above the sky, a secret island, lofty mountaintop, or
profound dream state" (Monomyth). Christian's fateful region became the
castle across the river which lie his treasure, the heart of his beloved
Princess Marigold and danger, the villainess Queen Olympia. At the age
of 17, and being raised by a troll might contribute to the
fact that he know nothing of love since he had not encounter a woman all
his life. Christian's intentions might be just the love of Marigold,
but he also possess the desire to achieve something greater, since he
thinks “increasingly, the sense that he no longer fit so well where
he was.” (pg. 34 Ferris).
Christian crosses the threshold (a river between the castle and his
cave) with a silver coin he found and kept for years (seems like he was
prepared). When Christian arrive at the castle's gate, he had trouble
with the gatekeeper. The guard named Rollo gave him a hard time going
into the castle for his job, luckily Hayes Centaur, the king's
game keeper helped him with the situation, but this lead to future
complications between Christian and Rollo. Campell claim that crossing
the first threshold can be "dangerous; to deal with them
is risky; yet for anyone with competence and courage the danger fades."(Monomyth)
To Christian, crossing the threshold is dangerous, because of the
unknown and the terror of facing a guard eight feet tall. Although he
obtain help from someone, he was not going to give up even if Rollo did
anything he threatened. (see pg.83 Ferris)
Wanderers forget they are not alone most
of the time, they have friends and support; in this case his family. When
Christian was thrown in the dungeon with Ed, Bud and Cate (the two dogs), he
exclaim to Marigold in their conversation “Sorry? I’m glad. They’re my family.
I’ve missed them terribly.” (pg.167 Ferris). This stage that Christian
encounter signifies a treasure that he has been looking for to represent his
true self. Not only did he find a piece of belonging, but also a step
towards the inner warrior (adult) he’s developing.
"Once having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream
landscape
of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession
of trials." Campell says(Monomyth). Christian's main quest are to save Marigold
from Queen Olympia's
evil deeds. His side quest would be to prevent Marigold's wedding to Sir
Magnus, her distant relative. His third quest, a hidden quest was to
find himself, as the future king of Zandelphia.
In Campell's words, "The meeting with the goddess (who is incarnate in every woman)
is the
final test of the talent of the hero to win the boon of love, which is
life itself enjoyed as the encasement of eternity."(Monomyth) In this stage,
Marigold act as the Goddess in the story, very clearly because
Christian's love for her caused him to abandon his independent life in
the forest and
become a servant just to see her. His love for her also risks his life
getting shot
by an arrow when he crashed on the flying contraction he build in the
dungeon just to stop the wedding of Marigold and Sir Magnus.(pg.223-225
Ferris) All of the task mentioned above are fulfilled to win Marigold's love, thus becoming one of the boon he receives.
"When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in
spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of
divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. A more mundane way of
looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and
fulfillment before the hero begins the return."(Monomyth) When Christian got
out of the dungeon using the flying contraption he
build, the Queen ordered her guards to shoot Christian in order for her
to continue with her plans. Christian got shot with a poison arrow which
leaves him with death. Marigold then saves his life, giving up her
fairy birth gift (the ability to read another's thoughts) and healing
Christian's wound. After being saved by Marigold’s fairy birth gift,
Christian enjoy
a moment of reunion with Marigold to know that everything he needed was
right
where he is. "in the deepest part of himself, he knew this was what he'd
been headed toward for as long as he could remember"(pg.245 Ferris)
"The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is
what the person went on the journey to get."(Monomyth) Christian's ultimate
boon was to eliminate Olympia, which his two dogs gladly helped with.
The two dogs, along with Marigold's three dogs forced Olympia over the
terrace wall and into the river. No one ever found the trace of Olympia,
except for her shoe. It gave peace and satisfactory throughout the
kingdom. Nevertheless, Christian rebuild the cave across the river into
his own kingdom of Zandelphia after finding out that he was the lost
prince eleven years ago. "he'd been preparing for a life with
Marigold--and for a life as a good king"(pg.245-246 Ferris)
Campell
claims the master of the two worlds would be "Freedom to pass back and
forth across the world division, from the
perspective of the apparitions of time to that of the causal deep and
back—not contaminating the principles of the one with those of the
other, yet permitting the mind to know the one by virtue of the other—is
the talent of the master. "(Monomyth) After a year, Christian build a bridge over
the river between King
Swithbert's castle and his own castle (the cave) to make communicating
more convenient, "linking our two kingdoms in friendship and
commerce"(pg.263 Ferris). His invention of 'p-mail' has spread over the
world
that everybody seems to be using it. The rules that he and Marigold came
up benefit every class in their kingdom.
Christian's boon lead to satisfying life with Marigold. "This
is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating
the future nor regretting the past."(Monomyth) Upon completing the set of
quest and gaining the love of his life,
Christian and Marigold are known to be the role model of all royalties.
Living their day "watching the sunrise, eating vegetarian, wearing a
single diamond earring, and using part of their residence as a home for
unwanted children" (pg.265).
Christian's
journey let to his treasure, not only did he receive a kingdom but also
a lovely princess's hand in marriage. Being a Wanderer throughout the
story has lead to the formation of Christian's Magician archetype, where
he creates and invent the technology the kingdom has never had.
Although his fairy birth gift is useless to his royal family, it's what
revealed him as an unique individual who can use his talent for a
specific purpose in life. The adolescent learns to improvise his skills
to be who he was meant to be, even if it takes to be locked in a dungeon
and shot by an arrow.
Works cited:
Ferris, Jean. Once upon a Marigold. San Diego: Harcourt, 2002. Print.
Ferris, Jean. "Words From the Author." A Brief Look at the Author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 09 Nov. 2004. Web. 06 June 2012.
<http://www.jeanferris.com/bio.htm>.
"Monomyth." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 June 2012. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth>.
Pearson, Carol. The Hero Within: Six Archetypes we Live By. 3rd Edition. New York: HarperOne, 1986.
