The Threshold
According to the Heroic Journey packet, the Threshold is the “jumping off point for the adventure; it is the interface between the known and the unknown.” Coincidentally enough, Franny had her ‘nervous breakdown’ at home, on a couch in the family room with her cat, Bloomberg, by her side. The first day or so of her breakdown was spent with her mother shoving chicken broth in her face, begging her to eat something. Franny had this time alone to sleep and think and give a shot at the Jesus Prayer before Zooey, her older brother, comes into the scene and disapproving of her breakdown, demands answers as to why she’s having it in the first place. Zooey acts as her ‘guide’ or ‘mentor’ in this journey once he accepts Franny’s breakdown. Mrs. Glass, Franny’s mother, acts as a ‘guardian’, and in way, is Franny’s ‘greatest fear’. She basically represents all that Franny is scared to death to end up being. Mrs. Glass has neither the intellect nor the sensitivity to help Franny in her quest for insight and understanding, though she is a caring mother.
Main
