Section 2, Part 4 Summary and Analysis

"Reading and Deciphering Myth" The author begins this phase of his examination of myth by suggesting there are three ways of understanding it, all of which depend on the way in which the "signifier" is interpreted. If seen as empty, the concept is seen as filling it and therefore providing meaning. If seen as filled (by the concept), the "signifier" can be understood to be not a symbol of meaning, but a concealer of it. If the signifier is seen as a part of an entire symbolic/mythic system, it becomes an embodiment of concept. All this, the author contends, is defined by the perception and experience of the individual viewing the myth—in other words, the meaning of myth is always subjective. The author then suggests, however, that the process of placing myth under his second-level semiological...