Marianna Shannon (9) - "Santa" by Federico Gamboa

    Santa by Federico Gamboa is the story of a young woman who is seduced, shamed, and cast out of her hometown, eventually finding herself in the streets of Mexico City where her life slowly unravels. It is one of the most compelling stories I have ever read. Looking at Santa through the lens of Campbell's hero's journey, her story follows the same structure but leads somewhere entirely different. She is called out of her ordinary world, she crosses a threshold into an unknown one, and she is tested at every turn. But where Campbell's hero returns home transformed and triumphant, Santa never returns. Her journey is one of descent rather than ascent; from innocence, to ruin, to death. She has all the markings of a hero but none of the glory. It made me wonder whether Campbell's framework only works for those the world decides to root for. Santa goes through just as much, if not more, than any traditional hero. The difference is that nobody was waiting to celebrate her return.

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