Perhaps, then, great stories posit some cycles that derive ultimately from those that are apparent in nature. But does that mean the hero must return home? Couldn't the hero become a villain and carry on in a higher level in the wilderness? The hero would be comparable to a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, which would be a cycle too.

I think the hero's journey works because it's propaganda, because it reassures us and glorifies those with dramatic character arcs, who are typically members of the upper class.