THE THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE

"The Mos Eisley Spaceport, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

- Obi Wan Kenobi "Star Wars: A New Hope"

The THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE often manifests itself as a physical place but it does not have to be.  If you think about a generic Dungeons and Dragons game, role-players will often seek out a tavern or pub because they know there will be action to be found there.   In Westerns, the key event that may set off a future confrontation will often happen in the town's saloon.  For whatever reason, it works out curiously that bars, taverns, and pubs often serve as surrogates for the THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE.   Sometimes the THRESHOLD is manifested as an actual barrier or a boundary, such as a river, bridge, doorway etc.   But the key thing that defines the THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE is that it is where there is a clear definition that the hero is no longer in the WORLD OF COMMON DAY and is actually on the adventure itself.   The hero must now face any tests, any THRESHOLD GUARDIANS that will prevent him from proceeding on the quest.  The hero could still turn back, but now it is much more difficult because he or she is in the adventure already.  At this point, the catchphrase of the film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of Ring" comes to mind, the hero cannot escape his fate, 'You will find adventure, or adventure will find you.'  Some examples that come to mind of the THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE is of course the Mos Eisley Spaceport scene in "Star Wars: A New Hope", the hobbits arrival at Bree and the tavern of the 'Prancing Pony' in The Lord of the Rings, and when Jerry MaGuire gets fired (in a restaurant).