The article is a promotional approach to a broader study of the correlation of myth and literature, specific to the 21st century literature. The first three books of the Canongate Myth Series published in 2005 — The Helmet of Horror by Viktor Pelevin, Weight by Jeanette Winterson and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood — are analyzed with the close focus on forms of assimilation of myth by literature in the early 21st century under the influence of postmodernism, feminism, mass culture, new sincerity. The compar-ative analysis allows to conclude that the literature of the period is characterized by simul-taneous use of various forms of myth incorporation: (1) the use of mythological imagery and plots; (2) structuring the text according to the matrix of the mythological novel, where-in myth is neither the only plotline, nor the only narrative point of view; (3) generation of an authomyth. The deconstruction of the universalistic meanings of the myth comes to the fore, which is achieved by intended plurality of interpretations. Basing on the material of the analyzed texts, two main trends in the use of myth by the 21st-century literature are underscored, which are also confirmed by the later texts of the project: (1) myth becomes a tool for self-knowledge and self-reflection, accordingly, its psychotherapeutic effect is put forward and, as a frequent consequence, an automyth is generated (Pelevin, Winterson, Byatt ); (2) myth is used as an instrument of controversy with topical ideological trends (Atwood, Pullman).
For citation:
Antsyferova O.Yu. Genre Transformations of Myth in Canongate Myth Series: Pelevin, Winterson, Atwood, Ivanovo State University Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2022, iss. 3, pp. 5—13.