Archetypal criticism is a new approach to the field of literature and art that seeks to understand the underlying themes and data in the historical unconscious of poeple and subsequently the artist's mind as an active matter and has been formed in the relationships between the sciences of psychology, anthropology and art, centered on Jung's theories. Continuing this theory, Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), an American mythologist, believed that the collective human unconscious will result in the creation of a specific and unified pattern in the stories of nations, which goes beyond cultural and historical differences, etc. He called one of these patterns the archetype of the hero's journey, which the hero will complete their transcendental or descending movement in the path of their evolution, after passing through the three stages of invitation, initiation and return. On the other hand, the movie "Yek Tekke Nan" [A Loaf of Bread] is a narrative of the hero's journey, who, in his journey to a transcendent destination, reaches perfection and annihilation after going through several stages. Therefore, this research, using a descriptive-analytical method, rereads this narrative with the approach of the hero's journey and has reached the following conclusions: the hero, due to the mystical structure and the centrality of the category of annihilation in this epistemological field, leaves his physical journey unfinished and stops at the stage of return. On the other hand, the author of this narrative has not failed the four mystical journeys and has brought the hero to perfection in the physical aspect in the stage of initiation and in the dimension of the Journey to the Servants, he will form a kind of metamorphosis and embodiment in the hero of the story from Qais to Aziz khanum. In fact, Aziz khanum is the manifestation of the spiritual aspect of the hero who will complete the hero's journey in the stage of return.
Introduction
In mythological criticism, various approaches emerged after Jung, among which structural criticism is one of the most significant. Joseph Campbell, a scholar of ancient literature and world mythology, through identifying mythological narratives and understanding the process of the heros evolution throughout the narrative, concluded that essentially all mythological narratives share a coherent and similar pattern. Based on the various stages of this pattern, common actions, actualizations, and structural systems can be identified in many stories.
Since the film Yek Tekkeh Nan, written by Mohammadreza Gohari and directed by Kamal Tabrizi, presents a kind of mystical journey in the form of the heros journey, it appears that the structure of this journey is highly aligned with Campbells mythological journey. This is because the element of journey is one of the common themes of epic and myth, and the travel narrative in this film can be examined and analyzed through the mythological approach of the heros journey, interpreting the degree of conformity and the significance of the absence of some of the seventeen stages.

Theoretical Framework
It should be noted that the pattern proposed by Campbell applies to mythological narratives centered on the heros journey; however, there is a kinship between mystical journeys and mythological journeys that allows the scope of this type of analysis to be extended to works with a mystical orientation as well. Campbell proposes three main stages for the heros journey:

1.Departure
2.Initiation
3.Return

Data Analysis and Discussion
1. Departure
The Call to Adventure:
At this stage, the hand of destiny calls the hero to itself through a summons, shifting the heros center of gravity from the framework of society toward an unknown realm. In Yek Tekkeh Nan, the heros journey manifests through a dreamlike call, encountered by the young soldier in his dreams. According to Campbell, this call often appears in the form of a dream, intuition, or an inner impulse. In line with this perspective, the soldier dreams for three consecutive nights of a man who tells him to come to the Imamzadeh for pilgrimage. This stage of the heros call aligns with mystical impulses and attractions. Considering the films framing, the hero is shown between two hesitant figures, while his inner certainty and calmness indicate that he does not refuse the call.
 
Supernatural Aid:
At this stage, a benevolent helper and protector offers reassurance and promises future peace and heavenly tranquility to the hero. Here, the young soldier goes to the river to fetch water and meets Molla Asali, who encourages him to speak of his destination and to begin the journey.

Crossing the First Threshold:
According to Campbell, With the appearance of the messengers of destiny to guide and help the hero, he steps onto the road of the journey.In this instance, the soldier is arrested for giving his boots to a shepherd, but due to the illness of other soldiers and the absence of anyone else to accompany the sergeant major, he strangely ends up traveling along this path with him.

The Belly of the Whale:
As previously mentioned, at this stage the hero enters the unknown realm and, in a sense, steps into the annihilation of the self. In Yek Tekkeh Nan, when both the sergeant major and Karbalai return under different pretexts and leave him alone, the young soldier, after reflection, sets off alone toward Barz-e Kuh. In effect, he begins his true journey.

2. Initiation
The Road of Trials:
At this stage, once the hero has crossed the threshold, he enters a dreamlike landscape of ambiguous and fluid forms, where he must undergo a series of trials. The overheating and puncturing of the vehicle serve as obstacles that prevent the soldiers easy journey as the storys hero, yet he continues on his path and walks alone toward the Imamzadeh.

Meeting with the Goddess:
The meeting with the Goddess (manifested in every woman) is the heros final test to attain the boon of love and compassion—nothing other than the enjoyment of life as a small example of eternity. In the story, the meeting with the old miller, as a symbol of spiritual beauty and tranquility, embodies one aspect of this boon of love and kindness. Through his grace, he aids the hero during the initiation stage and even in benefiting from the elixir of the return stage.

Woman as Temptress:
One of the demonic beings who stands in the heros path and seeks to deceive himappears in this film as the temptress woman, who reflects the heros own lower self.

Atonement with the Father:
Atonement (becoming one) refers to overcoming this dual monster that is born of the self. Based on this premise, when a motorcyclist drops the soldier off midway, after meeting the miller—who embodies the Goddess—the miller asks him, What do you see?The soldier answers, No one.The old man replies, No one is everyone,thereby making the continuation of the journey easier for him. This bond and unity with the companion, who represents the father figure and, in Campbells terms, an embodiment of God, realizes the dimension of atonement with the father.

Apotheosis:
To some extent, the soldiers strange and mystical prayer in the forest—during which all creatures seem to join him in harmony—can be considered an instance of passing through this stage.

The Ultimate Boon:
When the hero of the narrative reaches the final destination (the Imamzadeh), and spiritual attraction and tangible blessing appear symbolically in the form of bread and honey on a tray beside him, the hero, in Campbells terms, becomes the bearer of the boon, which leads to the renewal of life for the people and the community.

3. Return
If we examine the heros journey through the character of Aziz Khanom, part of the return and its dimensions can be sought in her astonishment and discovery of spiritual truth.
Refusal of the Return:
Given the heros non-return from the Imamzadeh, his refusal of the return can be found in his state of spiritual attraction and astonishment at the shrine. At this stage, the heros physical aspect is suspended, and the return is delegated to Aziz Khanom as the manifestation of the hero toward the material world and the human realm.

The Magic Flight:
At this stage, if the hero, upon achieving victory, has the blessing of the Goddess or God behind him, he is clearly tasked with returning to the world with an elixir to revive his society, while all supernatural forces protect him. This elixir is precisely the miracle of preserving the Quran, which manifests in the heros secondary dimension—Aziz Khanom—as a gift and blessing of the Goddess and as the achievement of the heros journey into the supernatural realm.

Crossing the Return Threshold:
This stage represents the heros return to ordinary life and the acceptance of the ordinary world, emerging through the confrontation of two opposing realms. In the film, this return does not occur in the heros physical dimension but is entrusted to his second manifestation, Aziz Khanom, who returns from the transcendent world to its opposing realm.

Master of Two Worlds:
At this stage, the hero must be able to move between the natural and supernatural worlds without altering the rules of either. At the end, it is observed that Aziz Khanoms intuition, formed prior to the heros departure during her meeting with him, places her in a liminal movement between the natural world (temporal time) and the supernatural (timelessness).

Freedom to Live:
At this stage, the hero saves the people of the material world with an elixir in the form of love, knowledge, ethics, a great treasure, or an eternal potion and attains immortality. In this film, the elixir is Aziz Khanoms recitation of the Quran, which brings salvation both spiritually and materially, restoring blessing to the shopkeepers and the villagers.

Conclusion
Mystical narratives can be conceptualized on two broad levels: first, narratives in which the hero reaches the final stage and ultimate goal and experiences annihilation (such as the story of Simurgh), and second, narratives in which the hero returns to the destination after the mystical journey and, in the terminology of mystics, undertakes a journey from the Truth to creation. Yek Tekkeh Nan appears to be an intelligent combination of these two patterns.
That is, the hero, in his masculine aspect, completes the path of spiritual wayfaring and reaches the station of union and annihilation, while the mission of the secondary pattern is entrusted to the female hero of the story, who assumes the role of guide and mentor to humanity. Thus, the deficiency in Campbells heros journey pattern and the rupture at the return stage actually correspond to the first pattern of mystical narratives. The completion of the heros journey cycle is achieved through the delegation and reflection of his existence and mission to the female hero (Aziz Khanom) as the manifestation of the primary hero.
In effect, Yek Tekkeh Nan can be considered, from this perspective, a complete narrative in fulfilling the entire cycle of the journey—fully structured both in its mythological construction and its mystical pattern, without any missing link. The heros journey, in its physical and bodily form, concludes at the return stage, while spiritually, within a mystical attraction, it is delegated to the second heroic character of the narrative.