英国小说家威廉·戈尔丁在创作的不同阶段提出用“神话”一词指称他的小说。他的小说“神话”观提示出小说和神话的共通之处:表现经验的本质性和整体性,具有神话思维的特质和传递先验的价值。他的创作实践充分体现了这一观念。戈尔丁的小说“神话”观也阐释了小说的体裁意义,即小说能够表现生命经验超出人类理性认识的内容,从而突破人类理性的有限性,使之实现认识越界,感受到生命的全部真实。 William Golding, a British novelist, proposed at different stages of his creation his novel with the word “myth”. His novels “myth ” concept shows the similarities between novels and myths: to show the essence and integrity of experience, to have the characteristics of mythological thinking and to convey transcendental values. His creative practice fully embodies this concept. Golding’s novel The Myths also expounds the genre significance of the novel, that is to say, the novel can show that the life experience goes beyond the rational understanding of human beings, so as to break through the limitation of human rationality and make it possible to realize the cross-border and life-feeling All true.