Stardust draws on a long, vivid literary tradition built on a number of predetermined patterns, known as archetypes. Numerous scholars have tried to quantify the landscape of story by slotting all storytelling into recognizable shapes ranging from one (Joseph Campbell’s “monomyth,” or the “Hero’s Journey”) up to 2000+ (the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index). Christopher Booker put forth a system of seven universal story archetypes: The Quest, Rags to Riches, Overcoming the Monster, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Booker’s system is the most commonly cited among story scholars today.

Gaiman’s novel shares elements with several of these story archetypes, including Campbell’s monomyth. However, one essential plot point that’s lacking is the “refusal of the call,” in which the hero temporarily turns their back on their calling (this can be seen in Hero’s Journey stories such as Harry Potter or The Hobbit). In Stardust, Tristran throws himself wholeheartedly into his adventure. The novel does, however, feature other Hero’s Journey elements, such as the mentor figure: In Stardust, this would be the man who teaches Tristran a little about his new world and arms him with his Babylon candle.

From Christopher Booker’s story archetypes, Stardust shares commonalities with the Rags to Riches