The Seven Basic Plots - Christopher Booker [0]
Why we tell stories
BY
CHRISTOPHER BOOKER
`We dance around in a ring and suppose; But the Secret sits in the middle - and knows.'
Robert Frost
This book is dedicated to the memory of my parents, John and Margaret Booker, who, between them, gave me such a magical introduction to the world of storytelling.
Introduction and historical notes ........................................................................................ 1
PART ONE: THE SEVEN GATEWAYS TO THE UNDERWORLD
Prologue to Part One .......................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 1 Overcoming the Monster .............................................................................. 21
2 The Monster (II) and the Thrilling Escape From Death ............................ 31
3 Rags to Riches ................................................................................................ 51
4 The Quest ...................................................................................................... 69
5 Voyage and Return ........................................................................................ 87
6 Comedy .......................................................................................................... 107
7 Comedy (II): The Plot Disguised .................................................................. 131
8 Tragedy (I): The Five Stages .......................................................................... 153
9 Tragedy (II): The Divided Self ...................................................................... 173
10 Tragedy (III): The Hero as Monster .............................................................. 181
11 Rebirth ............................................................................................................ 193
12 The Dark Power: From Shadow into Light .................................................. 215
Epilogue to Part One: The Rule of Three (the role played in stories by numbers) ........ 229
PART TWO: THE COMPLETE HAPPY ENDING
Prologue to Part Two .......................................................................................................... 239
Chapter 13 The Dark Figures ............................................................................................ 241
14 Seeing Whole: The Feminine and Masculine Values .................................... 253
15 The Perfect Balance ...................................................................................... 267
16 The Unrealised Value .................................................................................... 277
17 The Archetypal Family Drama (Continued) ................................................ 289
18 The Light Figures .......................................................................................... 297
19 Reaching the Goal ........................................................................................ 311
20 The Fatal Flaw ................................................................................................ 329
PART THREE: MISSING THE MARK
Chapter 21 The Ego Takes Over (I): Enter the Dark Inversion ...................................... 347
22 The Ego Takes Over (II): The Dark and Sentimental Versions .................. 367
23 The Ego Takes Over (III): Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy ................ 385
24 The Ego Takes Over (IV): Tragedy and Rebirth .......................................... 399
25 Losing the Plot: Thomas Hardy -A Case History ...................................... 413
26 Going Nowhere: The Passive Ego. The Twentieth-Century Dead End - From Chekhov to Close Encounters ............................................ 425
27 Why Sex and Violence? The Active Ego. The Twentieth-Century Obsession: From de Sade to The Terminator .......................................... 455
28 Rebellion Against `The One': From Job to Nineteen Eighty-Four ............ 495
29 The Mystery ..................................................................................................