Myths are intimately connected with emotions, but what the nature of the relationship really means, what it is, and how it functions are in many ways vague and unspecified. This is an examination of how, when and where emotions are referenced in theories of myth. The purpose is to point in a direction of possible new questions for future research on emotions and myth. Three major themes, centered around three major theorists of myth, are examined. The first treats perspectives of, and inspired by, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl. It is a theme based around views of myth as creating collective emotions. The second theme, centered around Bronislaw Malinowski, examines theories understanding myth as handling difficult emotions. The third theme deals with perspectives from Claude Lévi-Strauss’s structuralist theory of myth, where myth is seen as mediating contradictions, and thereby also mediating emotions of the contradictions. The three themes are then examined in relation to theories from the burgeoning history of emotions. New theoretical positions, such as the bodily and moral aspects of emotions, are examined and the result suggests that the central connection between myth and emotions could be found in humankind’s ever present concern to regulate, to discipline, and to form expressions of emotions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-100473 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Hedström, David |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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