Myth And Symbol

Do myths and symbols have anything at all to tell us about reality? Or do they simply deserve to be relegated to the realm of fantastic unreality? The essayists in this volume deploy all the critical tools available in the task of taking myth and symbol seriously. They are not willing to consign the use of the symbolic to the logician or to relinquish the mythical to the comparative anthropologist as something of historical interest only. Instead, they strive for that difficult position that is guided by criticism but is still open to wonder in the face of what myth and symbol offer in terms of enrichment, meaning, and self-transcendence.

From the time of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, people of British origin have shared the area of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (traditionally called Acadia) with Eastern Canada's Algonkian-speaking peoples, the Mi'kmaq. Despite nearly three centuries of interaction, these communities have largely remained alienated from one another. What were the differences between Mi'kmaq and British structures of valuation? What were the consequences of Acadia's colonization for both Mi'kmaq and British people? By examining the symbolic and mythic lives of these peoples, Reid considers the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century roots of this alienation and suggests that interaction between British and Mi'kmaq during the period was substantially determined by each group's fundamental religious need to feel rooted - to feel at home in Acadia.

The Mary Poppins that many people know of today--a stern, but sweet, loveable, and reassuring British nanny--is a far cry from the character created by Pamela Lyndon Travers in the 1930's. Instead, this is the Mary Poppins reinvented by Disney in the eponymous movie. This book sheds light on the original Mary Poppins, Myth, Symbol, and Meaning in Mary Poppins is the only full-length study that covers all the Mary Poppins books, exposing just how subversive the pre-Disney Mary Poppins character truly was. Drawing important parallels between the character and the life of her creator, who worked as a governess herself, Grilli reveals the ways in which Mary Poppins came to unsettle the rigid and rigorous rules of Victorian and Edwardian society that most governesses embodied, taught, and passed on to their charges.

Welsh artist Jen Delyth is one of the most highly respected contemporary Celtic artists in the world. Her debut book, Celtic Folk-Soul, illuminates the beauty, power and spirit of nature expressed through the ancient language of Celtic art and symbol: the voice of the Folk-Soul. This beautiful book is rich with Delyth's stunning artwork and is structured around a symbolic nine-chapter motif. From Roots/Elements to Stone/Mysteries to Beyond the Ninth Wave, Delyth pairs insightful explanations with her radiant artwork, Celtic myth and poetry revealing to us background, meaning and depth to the theme of each section. Celtic Folk-Soul takes us on a journey of discovery into the many aspects of Celtic myth and symbolism. This is an ancient thread which weaves back through the art, myth and poetry and connects us to a complex mysticism that expresses the interconnection and balance of all things.