The Meaning of Myth

(A carving of Lachesis, representing the present;

one of the three sisters that weaves the thread of life)

This fall UVU’s Department of Theatrical Arts will be presenting Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. Eurydice premiered in 2003, but is based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. What could a story written over two thousand years ago have to do with contemporary theatre? And why are we still telling this story?

The answer is as old as myth itself. Myth is any story that reflects a community’s beliefs. They differ from folktales, which reflect a community’s collective wisdom; and from fairytales, which are usually magical fantasies. Myths tackle the big issues: creation, love, life and death.

According to J. F. Beirlein, who wrote Living Myths, Myths still speak to us today because they address some important truths about the human condition. They acknowledge our limited vision and our finite mortality. Myths speak to what makes a meaningful life and what may happen to us after we die.

Mythology is the attempt to understand the reality of the Divine and the aching we have for something beyond ourselves.

“Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires, man is a fallen god who remembers the heavens.” Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet (1790-1869)

The mythic hero’s journey is reflected in each of our lives. We are born to be a hero, but just as the protagonist in a myth, we must struggle and transcend above the very things that would destroy us.

Myths address the paradox of the freedom and burden of human choice. Do we make our choices or do our choices make us?

Myths explore relationships. Our sense of meaning is relational; we exist with, in and through others. Our process of becoming cannot happen in isolation. Our parents, allies and especially our enemies define who we are.

Myths looks at our identity and participation in the cosmos. How do we fit into our community? The whole of the human race? The universe?

In short, the commonalities of human existence are explored in Myths and when we connect to them, they help us process our experiences. Eurydice looks at all these things, but especially life and death, remembering and forgetting, and how these elements interplay with our most important relationships.

Eugene O’Neill wrote that the secret of life was understanding that “Man is born broken; he lives by mending; and the grace of God is the glue,” to which Beirlein added, “Myths are threads for the process of mending. The threads may fray and break, but we know that there is a pattern being sewn.”

Whatever our lives are, we are not alone…the whole history of humankind is in it with us.