Open Collections

"Ella," a novel : exegesis of "Ella," a novel

University of British Columbia

This study explores the stages of the hero’s journey in Ella by Laura Danielle Laughlin MacDonald using Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory as well as the role of gender using Judith Butler’s theories on gender and gender performance. The study seeks to determine whether or not a female hero performing predominantly feminine gender roles can successfully complete the stages of a traditionally male-oriented hero’s journey. A literary analysis of Ella proves that the predominantly feminine gender performance of the hero, Ella, in no way interferes with her success as a hero proving that the traditional structure of the hero’s journey is unnecessarily gendered. The only stages not present in Ella are missing due to the structure of the fantasy world or the nature of the quest and not the hero’s gender.

Text

2015-04-13

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/52689

Children's Literature

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/