| The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. |
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| NUMBER: | 42767 |
| QUOTATION: | The primary function of myth is to validate an existing social order. Myth enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal. It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values.... Because myth anchors the present in the past it is a sociological charter for a future society which is an exact replica of the present one. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Ann Oakley (b. 1944), British sociologist, author. Woman’s Work: The Housewife, Past and Present, ch. 7 (1974). |
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| | | The Columbia World of Quotations. Copyright © 1996 Columbia University Press. |
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