structural ism, fairy tales and myth

8/2/2019 Structural Ism, Fairy Tales and Myth

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The works of

Vladimir Propp and Claude Levi-Strauss

STRUCTURALISM, FAIRYTALES AND MYTH


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Structuralism

Structuralism identifies structures andsystems of relationships which endowsigns or items with identities and

meanings and shows us the ways inwhich we think.

It has been applied to a variety of social

and cultural phenomena. It is based on the realization that human

actions and creations are based on an

underlying system of conventions.


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Ferdinand de Saussure The pioneer of

structuralism is widelyconsidered to beFerdinand de

Saussure.

Course in GeneralLinguistics

Langue the system

of language

Parole A specificspeech event


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During World War I, a group of scholars in Moscowperceived the possibilities of using Saussures

theories as a model for studying other phenomena.

Vladimir Propp studied folk tales as structural units.

Viktor Shklovsky estrangement anddefamiliarization; story and plot

Claude Levi-Strauss in Structural Anthropologyusedthe paradigmatic approach; the structures of

discourse that are latently or vertically embedded andcan represented as binary oppositions.

He found structures in myth point to the structures ofthe human mind which are common to all people and

transcend boundaries.


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Vladimir Propp Vladimir Yakovlevich

Propp was a Russianformalist scholar.

Morphology of theFolktale(1928)


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He analyzed the basicplot components offolk tales to identifytheir simplest

irreducible plotelements.

He analyzed over 150Russian fairy tales;

other researchersapplied it fairy talesfrom other cultures.


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31 FUNCTIONS Proppsfirst eight functions detail the villains

efforts to create a situation for which a hero mightcome to the rescue. (Absentation, abduction,violation, complicity)

Functions 9-11 detail the beginning of the herosjourney.

Functions 12-19 include the hero isinterrogated, The donor enters, Hero is led to

the object of search, Hero and villain join in

direct combat

Functions 20-31 offer paths for the heros return

and include the functions of punishment,transfi uration and the weddin the ha il -ever-


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7 ACTANTS The DramatisPersonae

Hero

Villain

DonorHelper

PrincessDispatcher

False Hero


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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Absentation An

Absent father

Interdiction Not pluckthe rose

Violation Plucking therose

Hero leaves Beautyleaves her home

Task Revive the Beast

Transformation TheBeast is transformed

Wedding Beauty andher prince can now get

married


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CINDERELLA Villainy/Lack

Cinderellas ill-treatment

Interdiction (by thedispatcher, donor,helper) Return before

midnight Violation Misses the

midnight deadline

BeginningCounteraction The

prince sets out with theslipper

Liquidation He findsCinderella

Wedding Cinderella

and the Prince livehappily ever after.


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ALADDIN The Hero Aladdin

The Villain Jafar

The Donor Jafar

The Helper Genie The Princess

Jasmine

Her Father the

Sultan The Dispatcher

Genie and Jafar

The False Hero -

Jafar


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THE LION KING The Hero Simba

The Villain Scar

The Donor Rafikithe monkey

The Helper(s) Timonand Poomba

The Dispatcher Nala

The Princess Nala The False Hero - Scar


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CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS A French

anthropologist, well-known for hisdevelopment of

structural anthropologyand structural analysesof mythology.

The Structural Study of

Myth Myths from different

cultures all over theworld are similar.

The specific myth is theparole while the


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Myths are made of unitsput together according tocertain rules. These unitsform relations with eachother, based on binary

pairs or opposites. Smallest components of a

myth mythemes.

In his analysis of theOedipus myth, he assigns

numbers to the mythemesand analyses themparadigmatically.

Oedipus high value tokinship representing a

downscaling of the family.


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CONCLUSION Structuralism can be applied to a wide variety of

phenomena; here it has been applied to literaryphenomena, anthropology, folkloristics andpsychology.

The smallest elements that make up any fairy taleare similar in every culture

There is a specific event and a system of rulesunderlying it; structuralism helps us identify this

system of rules.

These elements transcend cultural, temporal andlinguistic boundaries.


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THANK YOU!

structural ism, fairy tales and myth

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