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=                 Structuralist theory of mythology                  =
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                            Introduction
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In structural anthropology, Claude Lévi-Strauss, a French
anthropologist, makes the claim that "myth is language". Through
approaching mythology as language, Lévi-Strauss suggests that it can
be approached the same way as language can be approached by the same
structuralist methods used to address language. Thus, Lévi-Strauss
offers a structuralist theory of mythology; he clarifies, "Myth is
language, functioning on an especially high level where meaning
succeeds practically at 'taking off' from the linguistic ground on
which it keeps rolling."


                              Overview
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Lévi-Strauss breaks down his argument into three main parts. Meaning
is not isolated within the specific fundamental parts of the myth, but
rather within the composition of these parts. Although myth and
language are of similar categories, language functions differently in
myth. Finally, language in myth exhibits more complex functions than
in any other linguistic expression. From these suggestions, he draws
the conclusion that myth can be broken down into constituent units,
and these units are different from the constituents of language.
Finally, unlike the constituents of language, the constituents of a
myth, which he labels �mythemes,� function as "bundles of relations."

This approach is a break from the �symbolists�, such as Carl Jung, who
dedicate themselves to find meaning solely within the constituents
rather than their relations. For instance, Lévi-Strauss uses the
example of the Oedipus myth and breaks it down to its component parts:

Reading it in sequence from left to right, top to bottom, the myth is
categorized sequentially and by similarities. Through analyzing the
commonalities between the �mythemes� of the Oedipus story,
understandings can be wrought from its categories.

Thus, a structural approach towards myths is to address all of these
constituents. Furthermore, a structural approach should account for
all versions of a myth, as all versions are relevant to the function
of the myth as a whole. This leads to what Lévi-Strauss calls a spiral
growth of the myth which is continuous while the structure itself is
not. The growth of the myth only ends when the
�intellectual impulse which has produced it is exhausted.�


                From mythology to literary criticism
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Myths are primarily acknowledged as oral traditions, while literature
is in the form of written text. Still, anthropologists and literary
critics would both acknowledge the links between myths and relatively
more contemporary literature. Therefore, many literary critics take
the same Lévi-Straussian structuralist, as it is coined, approach to
literature. This approach is, again, similar to Symbolist critics�
approach to literature. There is a search for the lowest constituent
of the story. But as with the myth, Lévi-Straussian structuralism then
analyzes the relations between these constituent parts in order to
compare even greater relations between versions of stories as well as
among stories themselves.

Furthermore, Lévi-Strauss suggests that the structural approach and
mental processes dedicated towards analyzing the myth are similar in
nature to those in science. This connection between myth and science
is further elaborated in his books, �Myth and Meaning� and "The Savage
Mind". He suggests that the foundation of structuralism is based upon
an innate understanding of the scientific process, which seeks to
break down complex phenomena into its component parts and then analyze
the relations between them. The structuralist approach to myth is
precisely the same method, and as a method this can be readily applied
to literature.


                              Sources
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*Boon, James A. 'From Symbolism to Structuralism.' New York: Harper
& Row, 1972.
*Henéff, Marcel. 'Claude Lévi-Strauss' Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1998.
*Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 'Myth and Meaning.' New York: Schocken Books,
1978.
*Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 'Structural Anthropology.' Trans. Claire
Jacobson. New York: Basic Books, 1963.


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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralist_theory_of_mythology