What's Vogler's Ordeal?

Vogler, Christopher. “Approach to the Innermost Cave- The Ordeal.” The Writer's
Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Third. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese
Productions, 2007.
Summary
Vogler begins a discussion with the approach to the innermost cave which is often terrifying and dangerous. He says there are different functions for this approach like making more plans, thinning the group, arm the team, have a last laugh. At this time, in romantic stories, the hero can bond with a loved one prior to the ordeal. Sometimes the hero boldly passes through to seek the ordeal and other times they prepare, arm themselves and gather information first. Vogler continues on to discuss the characters from the Wizard of Oz because their story is so classic and contains good examples of these steps. They go through obstacles and illusions before meeting the threshold guardians. Then they may enter another special world and should be prepared, a warning may follow. Another threshold may stand in the hero’s way and they may have to make an emotional appeal to the guardian. There is an impossible test which results in complications and might even raise the stakes. The hero might need to reorganize and expect heavy defenses. Also, at this point, archetypes or the hero may undergo some changes. The hero might have to get into the enemy’s mind to prepare for the ideal, too. There is often no exit, no way for the hero to escape the ordeal at this stage in the journey.
The ordeal is the biggest, most exciting part of the journey for the hero because it is the main action that they have been preparing for. “The hero must die so that they can be reborn.” This is the essence of this stage whether literal or not. The hero returns from the journey having changed because of their experience. It’s also important to note that the crisis, the point in the story when the hostile forces are most tense, is not the climax, which would occur later. There are central and delayed crises. The ordeal does have points of tension which are held in place by the story’s structure. Many stories depend on the point of view, but often a witness sees the hero “die”. Audiences like to see death because it evokes emotion and adventure. The emotions of the audience can be played with and shifts from low to high peaks. The hero often appears to die in front of witnesses, but then cheats death, or the hero witnesses death; sometimes the hero even causes death. The most common ordeal is a battle with the opposing forces, like the shadow which has both negative and positive aspects. The shadow is different from the villain. Demonization may happen as well, it is the projection of all things we dislike about ourselves. The death of the villain is an important part of the ordeal, and it should be hard to accomplish. Sometimes the villain manages to escape wounded only to appear later in the story. It is also important to realize that villains see themselves as heroes from another point of view. As far as romance goes, the crisis might be a fear of intimacy, or a moment of betrayal, it might even be sacred marriage when the hero is in a state of centered balance. Sometimes love can even manifest into a shape shifting lover. There could also be negative projections of the anima or animus. Sometimes the ordeal refers to a conflict of age whether it is older versus younger generations of between parents and children. The last bit of the discussion on the ordeal is the death of the ego when the hero has been reborn after facing the crisis.


Reaction
Once again, Vogler gave an in-depth analysis of two stages of the hero’s journey providing information and examples for several varieties of the store. First was the approach to the innermost cave which can be very dangerous and include many parts within itself like meeting the threshold guardians and organizing the team and preparing for the big ordeal. At this point the audience can feel the danger and suspense as they wait for the major action which draws them into the story. We like the threat of death or the loss of another character. For some reason, people are attracted to death. It is such a mystery to us that we try to experience it in small doses to understand. Because of this we watch and listen to scary stories or take part in thrilling adventures, like skydiving for example just to feel that rush.
The ordeal is definitely the most significant part of the journey because it is what the audience and the hero have been preparing for and thinking about. A lot takes place during this stage, the hero must face death or their greatest fear, the shadow. They must face the biggest test yet, which should be much harder than the smaller tests beforehand. They finally face the villain, and I like that Vogler mentions that the villain is a hero to himself and if the story were told differently we would see that. This is interesting because I have often thought of that. Although they are bad in our eyes, they are always fighting for their own cause and in their life they are doing what is just and the roles and emotional shifts are reversed. I also like that Vogler included romantic stories because the steps of the journey are very different from action packed stories. Despite the drastic differences they imply the same principles which allows for a lot of leeway in these journeys.

Questions
Do other genres have different steps, aside from typical actions and romances? Do the stages have small alterations you can think of?
Why does the hero need to approach the innermost cave without just barging through? What do they learn here, is it necessary?
Why do you think we want to identify with death so much, what is our fascination?