Sojourner at 2010-12-21 09:40:10:
Along these lines, I heard Harlan Ellison say in Dreams With Sharp Teeth that he was most interested in writing about when a person needs to change into someone else (presumably to accomplish something).
Ellison talks about this transformation in wrenching terms, whereas Campbell talks about in more graceful terms, as if our old persona were merely a cloak we could let slip from our back.
I'm attracted to both.