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The narrative structure of the monomyth (the heroic journey, whose scheme and repertoire has been identified by Joseph Campbell) has provided an influential anthropological model for screenwriting and film analysis. Its hero is a male subject who performs an initial journey that is divided into moments or stages; the female character in this narrative scheme – who also contains a vision of the world – does not undertake the journey because, as Campbell writes, “she is the destination”. Various scholars (Maureen Murdock, Valerie Estelle Frankel, Joan Gould, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Marina Warner and others) have subsequently identified alternative narrative patterns, focusing on a different journey with a related arc of transformation: that of female character. In these cases the referential horizon is always that of mythography, and the theoretical one remains substantially Jungian, however their approach to storytelling significantly changes. The circularity of the monomyth is similarly confirmed, yet its rigid structure evolves into more rarefied and complex areas, since more time to process is required. Although such models are not typically or directly connected to the television, several contemporary series deeply explore this narrative structure. This is demonstrated in this article by analysing examples such as Jessica Jones, Orphan Black, Quantico, Orange Is the New Black, The Good Wife.
