Myths of the Contemporary Man: An Application of the "Mythic Reading" Method to the Selected Works of the World of the World Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Present paper tries to offer an approach to the myth which would characterize the currentness of myth for the contemporary man. The paper begins with an attempt to grasp meaning(s) of the Greek term μυθος, its relationship to the term λογος in the course of history and a critical evaluation of definitions and interpretation methods on case studies of selected scientists in the field of myth theory. Subsequently, own definition of myth is proposed, following and elaborating the theories of P. Ricoeur, L. Coupe, D. Cupitt, and others. Myth is then perceived as a dialectics between narrative and mythic motives which are not unalterable but, in the context created by a story, they obtain always a new meaning. In such manner, myths form chains of interconnected versions that are open for future interpretations in the process of "radical typology." Myths are not restricted to the realm of religion, "radical typology" factors profane context into calculation. Individual links of the chains of myths can represent pieces of literature as well. It is the literary works of 20th and 21st century (M. Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, G. Orwell's 1984, H. Murakami's Kafka on the Seashore, P. Auster's The City of Glass) that are in this paper interpreted as myths, the method of "mythic reading" being applied. It is..