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Myths on the Move: a Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works

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Myths on the Move: a Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2019-06-01 Myths on the Move: A Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works David Carter Delbar Brigham Young University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Delbar, David Carter, "Myths on the Move: A Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 7492. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7492 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Myths on the Move: A Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works David Carter Delbar A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Roger T. Macfarlane, Chair Matthew Garry Ancell Alvin F. Sherman Department of Comparative Arts and Letters Brigham Young University Copyright © 2019 David Carter Delbar All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Myths on the Move: A Critical Pluralist Approach to the Study of Classical Mythology in Post-Classical Works David Carter Delbar Department of Comparative Arts and Letters, BYU Master of Arts The Classical Tradition, now more commonly known as Classical Reception, is a growing sub-discipline in Classics which seeks to trace the influence of Greco-Roman culture in post-classical works. While scholars have already done much to analyze specific texts, and many of these analyses are theoretically complex, there has yet to be a review of the theories these scholars employ. The purpose of this study is to provide researchers with a theoretical tool kit which allows them greater scope and nuance when analyzing usages of classical mythology. It examines five different approaches scholars have used: adaptation, allusion, intertextuality, reception, and typology. Each theory is followed by an example from Spanish literature or film: Apollo and Daphne in Calderón’s El laurel de Apolo, Orpheus in Unamuno’s Niebla, Dionysus in Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, mártir, Persephone in del Torro’s El laberinto del fauno, and the werewolf in Naschy’s Waldemar Daninsky films. This thesis argues that a critical pluralist approach best captures the nuance and variety of usages of classical mythology. This allows for both objective and subjective readings of texts as well as explicit and implicit connections to classical mythology. Keywords: classical tradition, reception, adaptation, allusion, intertextuality, typology, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Miguel de Unamuno, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Naschy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Euripides, Publius Ovidius Naso, El laurel de Apolo, Niebla, San Manuel Bueno mártir, Bacchae, Apollo, Cupid, Dionysus, Orpheus, Persephone, werewolf TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Adaptation ..................................................................................................................... 4 Identifying Adaptations .............................................................................................................. 5 Identifying the Hypotext ............................................................................................................. 9 Tension Between Adaptation and Originality........................................................................... 11 Example: Baroque Binaries in El laurel de Apolo .................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Allusion ....................................................................................................................... 21 Function .................................................................................................................................... 22 Types of Allusion ...................................................................................................................... 24 Authorial Intent ......................................................................................................................... 26 Significance............................................................................................................................... 28 Example: Playing Orpheus in Miguel de Unamuno’s Niebla ................................................... 33 Chapter 3: Intertextuality .............................................................................................................. 40 Genetics..................................................................................................................................... 43 Subterranean ............................................................................................................................. 46 Textile ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Example: Dionysian Intertexts in Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, mártir .............................. 56 Chapter 4: Reception..................................................................................................................... 77 Reception at Point of the Author .............................................................................................. 79 Reception at the Point of the Scholar ........................................................................................ 82 Example: The Death of Persephone in El laberinto del fauno ................................................. 87 Chapter 5: Typology ..................................................................................................................... 95 Problems with Past Typological Approaches ........................................................................... 96 Formation of Types ................................................................................................................... 99 Typology as Methodology ...................................................................................................... 106 Example: The Werewolf Type in Paul Naschy’s Waldemar Daninsky Films........................ 111 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 124 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 126 iii Introduction Classical myths are ubiquitous. They have seeped into films, television shows, music, advertising, video games, and nearly all other forms of media, and have long since formed the backbone of canonical western literature. Classical scholars are becoming increasingly interested in these proliferations of classical mythology in post-classical works, recognizing that its usage is a natural extension of the discipline of classical studies. Gilbert Highet’s The Classical Tradition (1964) inaugurated the eponymous sub-discipline while Charles Martindale’s Redeeming the Text (1993) revitalized the field and introduced Hans Robert Jauss’ reception theory to allow for multiple, reader-oriented interpretations of both ancient texts and their successors. His efforts ultimately redubbed the field as Reception Studies, which continues to grow to this day. Most of the scholarship so far has focused on criticism of individual works, explaining how an understanding of classical myth and its “usage”1 in a post-classical text can enrich a reader’s understanding. Less work has been done to elucidate the overarching theories and underlying methodologies of the field. In 2008, James Porter wrote, “while so much of the new scholarship in reception is theoretically sophisticated, . to date no theory tailored to the specific exigencies of Greek and Roman reception exists.”2 Thus far the explanations of its methods are fragmented and scattered through many essays and books. This thesis attempts to gather and expand upon the various theories classical scholars have written which concern analyzing usages of classical myth. The goal is to produce a theoretical tool-kit for analyzing the uses of classical mythology in modern media. Rather than restricting the study to one method, I 1 It has become common parlance in classics to call all examples of classical references in post-classical texts “receptions.” However, reception is a specific theory which I address in chapter 4. In order not to confuse this with other theories, I call classical references “usages” as a neutral term. 2 James Porter, “Reception Studies: Future Prospects,” in A Companion to Classical Receptions, eds. Lorna Hardwick and Christopher Stray (Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell, 2008), 474. 1 will examine several different theoretical approaches. This
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