45 Master Characters (48 page)

Her inability to say “no” gets her in trouble as she stops to help someone.

She gets wrapped up in other people's dramas.

Examples of Stage 3

In Inanna's case she realizes she must stop crying over things others are doing to her and take control herself. She must journey to the underworld and face herself. “To prepare for her journey, Inanna gathers together the seven Me (attributes of civilization which also correspond to the seven chakras; see the seven issues of Stage 4) … she transforms them into such feminine allure as a crown, jewelry and a gown to wear as her protections. In case she would not return from the underworld, Inanna instructs her friend Ninshubur to remind her ‘fathers’ of her.”

Dorothy awakens when she opens the door to her house and sees the bright land of Oz. It's as if her eyes are open for the first time. She is also left alone to go on this journey without her family. They've been too protective of her.

The awakening comes for Rose when, after being beaten by the fiance´ her mother wants her to marry, she watches a little girl in a frilly white dress at a table near her, who is a mirror character of Rose. This little girl is being told to sit up straight and to hold her napkin properly. The girl is being robbed of her childhood, and Rose is being robbed of her womanhood.

She realizes she'll never be able to grow into the fun-loving woman she wants so desperately to be. Rose changes her mind and decides to meet Jack, a lower-class artist she's been forbidden to see. She tells him that she trusts him as he holds to the front of the ship with her arms outstretched, and she poses in the nude as a model for one of his portraits. She breaks out of her shell.

Edna goes to swim in the ocean with Robert even though it may not be the proper thing to do. The sensuous waves enfold her body and she begins to realize that she is
a person with a place in the world.
She confides in Madam Ratignolle, trying to find a female friend as she prepares to change, but it doesn't work out well.

Mademoiselle Reisz comes along as a mentor to her but she brings warnings that if Edna wishes to flaunt convention she'll have to endure isolation like she has.

Lester overhears his daughter and her girlfriend talking about him. He rushes into the garage, finds his dumbbells and takes off his clothes. Stripped naked, he examines himself and starts to workout. He takes the first step toward changing his life.

Create several different types of supporting characters to cut down her decision. Sometimes being laughed at by the one closest to us is the most devastating. Who does she look up to?

Remember to show the hero's awakening instead of telling it. Let her actively show the decision she has made. Does her boss constantly ask her to get him coffee when she's a vice president? Perhaps she dumps it in his lap and walks out. Think of how drastically different and alive the world of Oz is as compared to Kansas.

This is where the hero abandons her coping strategy.

All major supporting characters should have all been introduced to the reader by now, whether the hero has met them or not.

Stage 4: The Descent — Passing the Gates of Judgment

Sarah is a little uneasy being outside her bubble but she notices the air is much cleaner. She grasps her weapons and stands at the gates of the underworld. She has faced the fear that held her back and said no to the liars and tyrants that tried to stop her.

She steps through the gate, descends the staircase and sees there are six more gates waiting for her. It's too late for her to turn around now. At each succeeding gate a gatekeeper steps out and strips her of one of her weapons until she is left naked and alone in the darkness.

Now that the hero has made a life-changing decision she has to face the changes that come with it. She may also have to face societal assumptions that women are weak, passive and powerless as she tries to move forward.

The hero faces one of her fears, an obstacle that has much more at stake than mere self-doubt. She may want to turn back on her journey. She tries to use her weapons — manipulation, blackmail, her sexuality, her troubled past and wounds — but they don't work. One by one she passes the gates of judgment, faces a fear and loses a weapon in the process. She is stripped of all the external devices she thought would save her.

Keep in mind that what the hero faces in this stage is only a precursor to what she'll face in Stage 6, Death. In this stage Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz
feels guilty about leaving home when her family needs her, but in Stage 6 she faces the guilt that her leaving home will literally kill her Aunt. The stakes are raised much higher in Stage 6.

In the
Descent of Inanna
, Inanna passes through seven gates, losing one of her adornments or a part of her queenly identity at each one. These seven gates are compared to the seven chakras of the body and the seven demons cast out of people on a spiritual path as well as the seven primary colors of the rainbow.

These seven issues can be used to help you flesh out the plot points of your hero's descent in this stage. All of the archetypes can face these issues on their journeys. It's purely up to you which ones she'll face and how they'll become part of the plot.

Issue of Facing Fear, Surviving and Finding Safety and Security:
Is the hero afraid of intimacy because of fear of abandonment? Is she afraid to depend on someone else? Does she push herself too much? Is she able to support herself and put a roof over her head? What fear is she avoiding?

Issues of Facing Guilt, Expressing Sexuality and Emotions and Knowing One's Desires:
Does the hero want to say “no” but can't out of fear of rejection? Does she prefer to remain distant from others? Does she have a hard time setting limits because she doesn't want others to get mad? Does she sabotage her relationships? Does she know what makes her feel good? What does she feel guilty about?

Issues of Facing Shame, Defining Power and Will, and Gaining Her Own Identity:
Is the hero highly critical of herself? Is she a perfectionist? Does she want power over or power with others? Does she exercise her willpower? Does she try to control everything? How does she feel about money? Does she overindulge and binge? Does she have a sense of herself, or is she in an identity crisis? Why does she feel shame? Do others intentionally shame her?