SEVEN BASIC PLOTS : why we tell stories

Introduction and historical notesPART ONE: THE SEVEN GATEWAYS TO THE UNDERWORLD1 Overcoming the Monster2 The Monster (II) and the Thrilling Escape from Death3 Rages to Riches4 The Quest5 Voyage and Return6 Comedy7 Comedy (II): The Plot Disguised8 Tragedy (I): The Five Stages9 Tragedy (II): The Divided Self10 Tragedy (III): The Hero as Monster11 Rebirth12 The Dark Power: From Shadow into LightEpilogue to Part One: The Rule of Three (the role played in stories by numbers)PART TWO: THE COMPLETE HAPPY ENDINGPrologue to Part Two13 The Dark Figures14 Seeing Whole: The Feminine and Masculine Values15 The Perfect Balance16 The Unrealised Value17 The Archetypal Family Drama (Continued)18 The Light Figures19 Reaching the Goal20 The Fatal FlawPART THREE: MISSING THE MARK21 The Ego Takes Over (I): Enter the Dark Inversion22 The Ego Takes Over (II): The Dark and Sentimental Versions23 The Ego Takes Over (III): Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy24 The Ego Takes Over (IV): Tragedy and Rebirth25 Losing the Plot: Thomas Hardy - A Case History26 Going Nowhere: The Passive Ego. The Twentieth-Century Dead End - From Chekhov to Close Encounters27 Why Sex and Violence? The Active Ego. The Twentieth-Century Obsession: From de Sade to The Terminator28 Rebellion Against 'The One': From Job to Nineteen Eighty-Four29 The Mystery30 The Riddle of the Sphinx: Oedipus and HamletPART FOUR: WHY WE TELL STORIES31 Telling Us Who We Are: Ego versus Instinct32 Into the Real World: The Ruling Consciousness33 Of Gods and Men: Reconnecting with 'The One'34 The Age of Loki: The Dismantling of the SelfEpilogue: The Light and the Shadows on the WallAuthor's Personal NoteGlossary of TermsBibliography Index of Stories CitedGeneral Index