...a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can....

“ ...a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a painful rite of passage from one phase of life, one state of mind, to another. A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self-interest. ”

Karen Armstrong

From : A Short History of Myth / The Penelopiad / Weight / Dream Angus