From what I understand, Levi-Strauss believes in the idea that no matter how outrageous a myth may seem, when looking at myth examples from around the world, the fact is that they all follow specific structures. This reminded me of my favorite type of myth, the fairy tale. When looking at fairy tale structure, they too follow a similar structure to that of ancient myths. For example, there are always characters that are either very good or very bad, characters that are very powerful or very weak, magical or god-like intervention, and are set in places that are similar, it not exactly like the world we mere humans inhabit.
Take the example of "Cinderella". Whether known by this name or another, it is a fairy tale that is found worldwide. Perhaps the reason is that it has traveled orally from one country to another, morphing and changing small details along the way to better fit each new country's culture. But then again, perhaps as Levi-Strauss suggests, it is also a myth that evolved out of humans' natural story-telling habits. Quite simply, "Cinderella" is the story of a very good girl, who does everything she is told, until one day, through magical intervention, she finds her prince, who is her reward for her life-long good behavior. The story is also the bane of many feminists because it seems to teach girls to sit back, do what you're told, clean the house, and wait for your "prince" to find you. However, it Levi-Strauss is correct, maybe this story simply represents humans' natural story-telling structure. Perhaps the story isn't at all anti-feminists, but rather, a representation of natural female thoughts, hopes, and dreams.
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