Mythological Code: Enduring Relevance |
The article analyzes the mythological code that is a system of rules and ways of interaction between the signified and signifier. Like C. Levi-Strauss, we mean by myth not a sum of plots, but a certain way of perceiving and description of the world. The story told in the myth contains hidden meanings that cannot be interpretable. In the mythological narrative, it is difficult to ascertain how the meaning of images of legend arises. It appears that between the signified and the signifier is established not a metaphorical but a symbolic type of connection. The question is what encoding methods are used? At all stages of the history of the study of mythology, researchers considered images of myth as cyphers of certain phenomena (meteorological, psychological). From the epoch of romanticism, philosophers began to view mythical images as signs, referring to the transcendent, to an incomprehensible mystery. In spite of the nebula of meanings and the uncertainty of the functions of the images, mythology is relevant to contemporary culture. The mythological code opens up new possibilities for interpretation. It is a universal model capable of resolving any contradictions.