The "wife" who "goes out" like a man : Reinterpretation of a Clackamas Chinook myth

The monographs by Melville Jacobs on the Clackamas Chinook are referred to & it is noted that Clackamas myths allow for a plurality of interpretations. A philological (1st) & a structural (2nd) interpretation are distinguished. If structural analysis of myth & folklore is to keep pace with ethnographic & linguistic theory, it must achieve 'descriptive adequacy.' A synopsis of the myth of 'Seal (&) her younger brother lived there,' is presented. The 1st interpretation deals with the form of the myth & the signif of the actors; the 2nd interpretation, which is structural, discusses the titles & named actors in the myth, & the girl's & Seal's culpability in the plot. The myth related is compared with another Clackamas myth, that of 'Cock Robin, his older sister & his sister's daughter.' The following structure is found in both: culpable actor, advising actor, & victim. A 3rd myth, 'Blue Jay and his Older Sister,' is related & analyzed as to the soc norm it upholds & to the empirical situation. Soc norm & empirical situation are seen as maintaining 2 types of rationality & each can be viewed as capable of 2 values. For soc norm, the values can be (1) upheld or (2) violated; for the empirical situation: there can be (a) adequate response & (b) inadequate response. This leads to a typology of myths. The 2nd interpretation of the 1st myth is then resumed & the dialectics of the actors, the imagery, the tone & expressive detail of the narration, & the role of women & the form of the myth are analyzed. It is concluded that the 2nd interpretation gives the myth 'something of an Oedipal ring.' Despite the richness which a sociopsychol'al perspective provides, prior reliance upon its insights can override & even conceal the import of a myth. Rather than focusing on the latent content, a structural analysis of the features & relationships of a myth must 1st be made in terms pertinent to the genre in the culture in question. M. Maxfield.