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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!
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