According to Peter Stillman in Introduction to Myth women in heroic quests serve two basic purposes: temptations or guides to knowledge. A true hero should be able to look past the outside appearance which is sometimes blinding, and see the function of each woman he encounters on his quest. In The Natural, Memo Paris is the temptation, Iris Gaines is the guide to knowledge, and Roy Hobbs is not a hero.
First, Memo Paris served a heroic quest by being the temptation in the novel. In mythology women are known for being the seducer. Memo is a young, beautiful redhead who Roy falls for. Roy’s love for her was on accident because Bump Bailey, who had died was Memo’s boyfriend and since Roy and Bump switched rooms one night, it leads Memo to have sex with Roy and not Bump. Also, she keeps leading Roy on but at the end she never loves him as much as he loves her. Memo is all Roy wants, even though she is not good for him.
Second, Iris Gaines served a heroic quest by being the guide to knowledge in the novel. Besides temptation, women are known for being the guide to knowledge. Iris is a grown woman, who is 34 with a daughter and granddaughter. Roy and Iris go on a date. On their date, they talk about Roy’s life and she brought him out of his slump. Also, they engage in sex which leads Iris to be pregnant
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He is not a hero because he is shallow. He fell in love with Memo because of the way she looked and not for who she really is. He did not like Iris at first because she is bigger than what he usually goes for, but he started to like her because of how she acts and her personality. Since Roy is 34 and started playing baseball at that age, he is just reconnecting with his youth because at age 18 he got shot and his youth was basically taken away from him. That is why he thinks Memo is good for him because she is young and Iris is not because she already has a grandchild. Roy Hobbs is still naive and he has not changed since his 18 years