ABSTRACT
The rationale behind this chapter is that in psychotherapy, the cure derives from an exchange of words, the words people use to talk about themselves. It looks at the "faculty" of narration in relation to the "faction" of the heroic cycle. Campbell and Ricoeur both described this relationship when they sought a narrative prototype which used the heroic cycle as background and narrative framework for recounting personal history. The sewn-mouths belong to those who have lived through and witnessed the violence of war and decided to become actively involved. Their mouths were shut, their lips were sewn because they were suspected of becoming, or were seen to be potential heroes. Those who are open-mouthed have lived through and witnessed violence and war but have remained passive, without this implying that they have been completely inactive. They are astonished by what they have seen, their mouths wide open and their hands grasped together.
