Telling stories

The Guardian’s recent series of booklets on the Greek myths was delightful. Definitely a set to keep.

The booklets prompted me to think about the role that stories can play in helping us to understand society, particularly stories with the depth of the Greek myths and many of Shakespeare’s plays.

The centrality of the tragedy of Oedipus in psychoanalytic thinking stands out. But I am also reminded of the way Mark Stein, an academic at Imperial College, uses the story of Cain and Abel in his work on envy and defences against anxiety.

Stories can also be useful in consultancy interventions, as a way of getting groups of people to talk about the issues they face. They can be used to elicit valuable insights.

The power of stories struck me while listening to the recent performance at the Barbican of Judith Weir’s The Vanishing Bridegroom. The first act, The Inheritance, is about the death of a man whose legacy is found to be missing. One of his sons must have stolen it, and the question is, which one?

A doctor pursues the question by telling a story of a woman, prevented from marrying her lover and made to marry a richer man. From the reactions to the story of the three sons it is clear who stole the inheritance.

Stories, the telling of them, interpretations of them and reactions to them can be very revealing.

Phil Swann