As a folklorist I’m saddened by the way you deliberately misrepresented the work of Campbell and the field of folkloristics in the recent answers you gave on this blog. The most hurtful part of your answer, however, was the notion that people who study patterns in storytelling are “throwing away” stories that don’t fit the pattern, and that they are not scientists in your view. I found this surprising and, frankly, quite insulting. Could you expound on your views on the subject a bit more?

neil-gaiman:

I’m puzzled by your question, because I’ve never met a folklorist who was even polite about Joseph Campbell. Authors tend to be quite fond of him, and I’ve known branches of academia who seemed to respect him. But folklorists do not hold back. And I’ve never known a folklorist who regarded what Campbell did as being any real part of the field of folklore. And in his defence, Campbell never claimed to be a folklorist – he was literature prof who wrote about comparative mythology and religion.

This link may help on what many of the other folklorists think, and clarify more besides, although given how saddened and hurt you were by my rather gentle pointing out of Campbell’s weaknesses, you may have to brace yourself on this one. Although as a folklorist, you will have to find this all out eventually, probably the first time you mention Campbell to your fellow folklorists. So here you go:

 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/foxyfolklorist/why-folklorists-hate-joseph-campbells-work/