Murdock stated that the heroine's journey is the healing of the wounding of the feminine that exists deep within her and the culture.
[1] Then comes the experience of spiritual death, and turning inward to reclaim the power and spirit of the sacred feminine.
An individual in a patriarchal society is driven to seek control over themselves and others in an inhuman desire for perfection.
"[1] Similar to the Hero's Journey, the heroine faces obstacles that lead to character development.
The heroine meets with a goddess figure, who represents all the positive values of femininity she has left behind.
Murdock: "The next stage involves Healing the Unrelated or Wounded Aspects of her Masculine Nature as the heroine takes back her negative projections on the men in her life.
This involves identifying the parts of herself that have ignored her health and feelings, refused to accept her limits, told her to tough it out, and never let her rest.
It also involves becoming aware of the positive aspects of her masculine nature that supports her desire to bring her images into fruition, helps her to speak her truth and own her authority.
"[1] In the final stage, the heroine fully accepts and understands both sides of her true nature.
This demands that she learn the delicate art of balance and have the patience for the slow, subtle integration of the feminine and masculine aspects of her nature.
"In the true Heroine’s Journey, the heroine may experience momentary but not sustained success because those around her do not want to be led by a woman/women for long, or the men around her begin to undermine her, or after the crisis passes she is left trying to fill multiple roles that are inconsistent or impossible for a single person to fulfill."
The heroine realizes that her newly learned skills cannot help her and she cannot fall back on her old ways either.
[2] Joseph Campbell rejected the model personally in a conversation with Murdock, stating that it was an unnecessary expansion on his template.
"[2] The Heroine's Journey popularity expanded as other authors created various versions since Murdock's publication.
Murdock's book was written specifically for women and therapists, leading to criticisms that it was difficult to use as a template for creative writing.
Joseph Campbell reportedly said when shown Murdock's model: "Women don’t need to make the journey, they are the place that everyone is trying to get to.