What is Your Story? in James Joyce’s Ulysses

Introduction: Your Story is Your Life

Every life is a story, but too often we let history, tradition, or others’ expectations dictate our plot. In my work with The Hero’s Journey and The Heroine’s Journey, I help people discover the narrative patterns shaping their lives—and empower them to step into authorship. Günter Grass’s Der Butt (The Flounder) is not just a modern fairy tale or a satirical epic; it’s a profound meditation on gender, myth, and the stories that shape us from prehistory to the present. Let’s journey with Grass’s narrator and the enigmatic Flounder to see what their odyssey can teach us about rewriting our own destinies.

Old Stories: Myths, Gender, and the Weight of the Past

Der Butt begins not with a single hero, but with the oldest stories of all: the myths and fairy tales that have shaped Western consciousness. Grass’s narrator, a modern man, is haunted by the tale of the talking flounder—the magical fish who, in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, grants wishes and upends the world order. The Flounder in Grass’s novel is a trickster, a survivor, and a commentator on human folly, especially as it relates to the eternal struggle between men and women.

The old stories in Der Butt are not just personal—they are collective. They are the stories of matriarchal prehistory, of patriarchal conquest, of the shifting tides of power and gender. The narrator is swept along by these currents, both fascinated and repelled by the roles he is expected to play as a man, a lover, a father, and a storyteller.

We all inherit myths—about gender, about power, about what is possible. The first step in any journey is to notice these inherited scripts and ask: Whose story is this, really? What old myths am I living by, and do they still serve me?

Reflective Questions: Exploring Your Old Stories

What myths or cultural narratives about gender or power have shaped your life?
Where do you feel trapped by roles or expectations you didn’t choose?
How do the stories of your family, community, or culture influence your choices?
Are there old tales you’re ready to question or rewrite?
What would it mean to step out of the stories that no longer serve you?

The Call to Adventure: The Flounder’s Invitation

The call to adventure in Der Butt is both literal and symbolic. The Flounder—caught, released, and caught again across the centuries—invites the narrator (and us) to revisit the great turning points of history. From the Stone Age to the modern era, the Flounder challenges the narrator to confront the shifting balance of power between the sexes, to explore the cycles of matriarchy and patriarchy, creation and destruction.

For the narrator, the call is also deeply personal. He is compelled to examine his relationships with the key women of his life—Ilsebill, Jenny, and others—each of whom embodies a different era, a different possibility, a different wound. The Flounder’s invitation is to look beyond surface roles and ask: What is the deeper story here? What am I called to learn, to change, to risk?

The call to adventure is rarely comfortable. It asks us to leave the safety of old certainties and step into the unknown, to risk the loss of privilege or the pain of self-discovery.

Reflective Questions: Recognizing Your Call

What challenge or invitation is asking you to rethink your story?
Are there relationships or patterns in your life that keep repeating?
What “Flounder” is provoking you to question, to grow, to change?
When have you felt the urge to break free from tradition or expectation?
What is your own “call to adventure” right now?

Refusal of the Call: Doubt, Guilt, and the Weight of History

The narrator of Der Butt often resists the Flounder’s call. He is beset by doubt—about his own motives, about the possibility of real change, about the weight of guilt inherited from centuries of male dominance and violence. The Flounder is a master of irony, reminding the narrator (and us) that every gain is shadowed by loss, every liberation by new forms of oppression.

Refusal is part of every journey. It is the voice that says, “It’s too late to change,” or “The world is too broken,” or “Who am I to rewrite history?” The narrator is haunted by the failures of the past, by the harm men have done to women, by the cycles of violence and retribution that seem never-ending.

Yet, as Grass shows, the refusal is not the end—it is the crucible in which new stories are forged. Only by facing our doubts and our complicity can we begin to imagine something different.

Reflective Questions: Facing Your Fears

What doubts or guilt hold you back from embracing change?
How do you respond to the weight of history—personal or collective?
Where do you feel powerless to alter old patterns?
When have you resisted a call to growth or reconciliation?
What would it take to move forward despite your fears?

Meeting the Mentor: The Flounder as Trickster and Guide

In every journey, there is a mentor—sometimes wise, sometimes mischievous. The Flounder in Grass’s novel is both: a sardonic commentator, a survivor of every regime, a fish who has seen it all and is not above meddling in human affairs. He is a voice of memory, of warning, of possibility.

The Flounder’s lessons are not always easy to accept. He exposes the self-deceptions of both men and women, the ways we cling to power or victimhood, the stories we tell to justify our actions. Yet, he also offers hope: the possibility that by telling the truth, by listening to other voices, by embracing complexity, we can create new narratives.

Mentors in life are often tricksters—they challenge us, provoke us, refuse to let us settle for easy answers. The journey is as much about learning to listen as it is about finding the right path.

Reflective Questions: Finding Your Mentors

Who or what acts as a mentor or provocateur in your life?
How do you respond to voices that challenge your assumptions?
What lessons have you learned from those who refuse to flatter or comfort you?
Where do you find wisdom—in books, in people, in experience, in myth?
How do you integrate uncomfortable truths into your story?

Crossing the Threshold: Love, Loss, and the Point of No Return

The narrator’s journey with the Flounder is marked by a series of thresholds—moments when the old world is left behind and a new one begins. Each relationship, each historical era, is a crossing: from matriarchy to patriarchy, from innocence to experience, from certainty to doubt.

For the narrator, the most profound thresholds are personal: the birth of a child, the loss of a lover, the realization that history cannot be undone but must be lived with. The Flounder is always there, reminding him that every crossing is both an ending and a beginning, and that the only way forward is through.

Crossing the threshold is never easy. It means letting go of the familiar, risking heartbreak, and embracing the unknown. But it is also the moment when transformation becomes possible.

Reflective Questions: Committing to Change

What was a “point of no return” in your own journey?
When have you risked love, truth, or change, knowing you could never go back?
How did it feel to leave the safety of the familiar behind?
What new possibilities or challenges emerged on the other side?
How do you honor both loss and hope as you cross new thresholds?

Trials and Allies: Gender, Power, and the Struggle for Understanding

The journey through Der Butt is a gauntlet of trials—personal, political, and existential. The narrator must navigate the shifting tides of gender politics, the demands of lovers and children, the temptations of power and the wounds of loss. Allies appear in unexpected places: women who challenge, nurture, or abandon him; friends and enemies who reflect his own contradictions.

The trials are not just external—they are battles within the self. The narrator must confront his own complicity, his longing for innocence, his fear of change. The Flounder is both ally and adversary, forcing him to reckon with the stories he tells and the ones he refuses to face.

Through adversity, we learn who we are. Allies—whether friends, lovers, or even antagonists—help us see ourselves more clearly and push us to grow beyond our limitations.

Reflective Questions: Growing Through Challenge

What trials have tested your resolve and shaped your understanding of self and others?
Who are the allies who have stood by you—or challenged you to grow?
How do you navigate the complexities of power, love, and responsibility?
When have you been forced to confront uncomfortable truths about yourself?
What have you learned from adversity about empathy, humility, or resilience?

Transformation: Rewriting the Story

The heart of Der Butt is transformation—not just of the narrator, but of the stories themselves. The Flounder insists that history is not fixed, that every generation has a chance to rewrite the script. The narrator, battered by love and loss, by guilt and hope, begins to see that the only way forward is to embrace complexity, to honor both the wounds and the wisdom of the past, and to imagine new ways of being.

Transformation is rarely about perfection. It is about honesty, humility, and the willingness to listen—to others, to history, to the Flounder within. The narrator’s journey is a call to all of us: to become the authors of our own stories, to refuse the easy answers, and to risk the vulnerability of real change.

Reflective Questions: Becoming the Author

How have your experiences changed the way you see yourself and others?
What old stories have you questioned, revised, or let go?
How do you honor both the pain and the possibility of transformation?
What new narrative are you writing for yourself, your relationships, your world?
How do you celebrate growth, even when it is messy or incomplete?

The Return: Living the New Story

The journey of Der Butt does not end with a simple resolution. The narrator returns to the present, changed but not unscarred, ready to live with the ambiguity and complexity of real life. The Flounder remains—a voice of memory, of irony, of hope.

The return is not a return to innocence, but to a deeper engagement with the world. The lessons of the journey become the foundation for new choices, new relationships, new stories. The narrator is no longer merely a product of history, but a participant in its ongoing creation.

For us, the return is the opportunity to live our new story—to embody the wisdom we have gained, to inspire others, and to continue the work of transformation.

Reflective Questions: Living Your New Story

How do you integrate the lessons of your journey into daily life?
What new choices or commitments reflect your transformation?
How do you share your growth with others—family, community, the world?
What legacy do you want to leave for the next generation?
How will you continue to listen to the Flounder—the voice of memory, irony, and hope?

Lessons for Our Own Stories

Der Butt is not just the story of one man or one fish. It is a mirror for all of us who have ever questioned the myths we live by, who have struggled with love, power, and change. Grass’s novel is a reminder that history is not destiny, that every generation can rewrite the script, and that the journey toward understanding is never finished.

You are not bound by the stories others have written for you. You can question, challenge, and rewrite them. The journey is yours to claim.

The Power of Your Story: Steps to Transformation

Let’s break down the journey, as I do in my workshops, so you can apply it to your own life:

Old Stories: What myths or roles have you inherited?
The Call: What is asking you to rethink or grow?
Refusal: What doubts or guilt hold you back?
Mentors: Who or what challenges and guides you?
Threshold: When did you risk change or truth?
Trials: What challenges have shaped your empathy and resilience?
Transformation: How have you changed your story?
Return: How will you live—and share—your new story?

Remember: your story is not fixed. Every day is a new page. Every choice is a new line.

Der Butt as a Universal Tale

Grass’s novel endures because it speaks to the timeless questions of gender, power, myth, and transformation. It is a story about the courage to question, the humility to listen, and the creativity to imagine new ways of being. The Flounder’s voice echoes through history, reminding us that the work of rewriting our stories is never done.

Conclusion: Write Your New Story

As you close the pages of Der Butt, ask yourself: What story am I living? Is it one I have chosen, or one that was chosen for me? The power to change your story is the greatest gift you possess. Use it well.

Let the journey of Grass’s narrator—and the wisdom of the Flounder—inspire you: not to seek perfection, but to embrace complexity, to risk change, and to write the story only you can tell.