Heroines vs heroes: What Joseph Campbell missed

The article is a review of the book by Maria Tatar Heroine with 1,001 Faces (Moscow: Alpina Publisher, 2024. 453 p.) in which the author analyzes various literary works — from ancient Greek myths to contemporary superhero comics — to reveal archetypes that represent female characters and their place in culture. Tatar draws parallels between heroines of the past, who fought for their rights with storytelling, and today’s women who posted stories about violence and injustice on social media; and emphasizes the problem of social silence and the role of words as a weapon against oppression and oppressors. The review identifies both the strengths of the book and those issues that require a deeper analysis (like transformations of the female image in the contemporary popular culture as replacing folklore). © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.