as regards the direction of tendencies in behaviour, and as regards the images, thoughts, and feelings that cluster about such tendencies, analysis of the course of past personal experience is required. In practically all cases, that is, "wish" is a complex psychical factor demanding analysis.
(2) The recognition that symbolism enters into the popular story does not free us from the necessity of considering the "historical pedigree" of any given story which we may study.
(3) At the same time, in so far as a true psychological symbolism does occur, study of history, whether of the story or of the symbol, is not in itself adequate. What is required is a study of the mental processes of the individual who is employing the symbol, in relation to the development of the symbol employed, as the latter occurs within the story which is being analysed.
(4) The doctrine of "universal" symbols requires careful criticism.
(5) In any case the flexibility of symbols renders their interpretation very liable to error, particularly in reference to widespread and powerful human tendencies.
§ 3. The Sociological Point of View.
Nobody can doubt that many of the incidents which find a place in the popular story are the direct expression, put into a dramatic form, of some social custom, or of some belief generally accepted in the community within which the stories are current. This is, for example, one of the most important general conclusions drawn by Boas from his comprehensive Comparative Study of Tsimshian Mythology.[1] Taking a wide survey of the stories current among the Indians of the Northern Pacific coast, he maintains that the tales are practically all built upon some simple event or other which is characteristic of the social life of
- ↑ 31st Ann. Rep. Bur. Ann. Eth. See especially pp. 872 ff.
