Gender and the Interpretation of Classical Myth

Using the new lenses provided by gender studies and the diverse forms of feminism, this text re-examines some of the major approaches to interpretation of classical myth in the twentieth century: psychological, ritualist, 'charter', structuralist and folklorist.

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Myths reflect, reinforce, and sometimes subvert gender ideologies and so have an influence in the 'real world'. This is true in the present no less than when the Greek and Roman myths were created. The struggles to redefine gender roles and identities in our own time are inevitably reflected in our interpretations and retellings of these classical myths. Using the new lenses provided by gender studies and the diverse forms of feminism, Lillian Doherty re-examines some of the major approaches to myth interpretation in the twentieth century: psychological, ritualist, 'charter', structuralist and folklorist. 'Popular' uses of classical mythology, from television and comic books to the evocation of goddesses in Jungian psychology, are also explored.