Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman

by Jean Shinoda Bolen

In Jean Shinoda Bolen’s best-selling, game-changing Goddesses in Everywoman, myths came to life in a whole new way that resonated with our own lives. Even fictional character Bridget Jones was reading that book.

Now comes Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman, a groundbreaking new book that explores the archetype of the activist. Indomitable means untamed, unsubdued. It is the one-in-herself quality in girls and women who will not be victims, no matter what. To bring the Artemis archetype to life, Dr. Bolen delves deeply into the myth of Atalanta, the famous hunter and runner in ancient Greek mythology, a mortal woman who is identified with Artemis the Greek Goddess of the Hunt and Moon. Atalanta began life abandoned and left to die because she was born a girl. She faced the Calydon Boar and drew first blood; she was the runner who would demand to be beaten in a footrace by the man who could claim her as his bride. Atalanta exemplifies the indomitable spirit in competent, courageous girls and in the women they become. This is grit, the passion and persistence to go the distance, to survive, and to succeed.

Dr. Bolen paints a vivid picture of Artemis women in current media, including Princess Merida from the animated film Brave and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. In all these examples and those of real-life women who grow into their Artemis spirit, she provides the means through which readers can navigate their own personal exploration to become their authentic selves.

Genres: Psychology, Mythology, Nonfiction, Feminism, Spirituality, Goddess, Self Help

251 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D. is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing’s "Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award". She is a former board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women.

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Artemis, Jean Bolen discusses the importance of archetypes and mythological stories. She asserts that we don't just enjoy the stories for their entertainment value- we respond to the psychological truths contained between the lines.

I've always enjoyed academic discussions of mythological tales. I never really knew why though until I read this book.

The meanings of mythology are so layered that our conscious minds may not even know that our subconscious minds are latching onto the veiled truths. We love them without realizing their importance.

Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman contains an intricate dissection of the tale of Atalanta, a mortal whose life paralleled the goddess, Artemis, in many ways.

I think I had been exposed to this tale in a classical mythology course in college, but the complex Jungian psychology that goes along with it wasn't explained to this extent. Bolen's explanation of the myth is masterful.

One archetype in particular that I enjoyed learning about was Selene/Endymion. Sometimes, in the frantic growth to adulthood, one can feel alone in their struggles and inner landscape.

I've known so many girls (myself included) who were living that pattern but they didn't even know it. Bolen's explanation of the motivations and the potential growth that can accompany this life pattern was enlightening as well as encouraging.

Bolen ties humanity together through shared experiences and mythologies. She makes the reader feel that, no matter what they have gone through, they are not and have never been alone. It's a very empowering message.

My minor in classics covered much that was discussed in this book but the feminist lens that was applied to the mythologies was very unique and different from what I have learned in the past.

In addition to the myths, Bolen includes contemporary fictional heroines as well as real life figures who embody the archetypes. I liked that she traveled beyond the boundary of the tales to apply the energies to real life.

Young women who aspire to embody the vision of Artemis in all of her variations in their own life will find many examples to emulate within these pages.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. I haven't read Bolen's Goddesses in Everywoman but this book makes me want to dive into it.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Jungian psychology, mythology or the elevation of the human spirit.

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. FTC guidelines: check!

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hugely disappointed.

(1) Contrary to what the title suggests, the book isn't about Artemis specifically or the Artemis myths. Rather its a jumbled mess of multiple goddesses and mythological archetypes that Bolen attempts to connect to Artemis and then to the modern woman.

(2) The feminism references and applications feel decidedly "white" and outdated. In reading this book, you get the feeling that Bolen is continually drawing upon her experiences in white middle-class feminism from the 60s and 70s--and that she doesn't quite 'get' (or has no knowledge) of 21st century feminist theory, the mindset of women under the age of 50, or feminism in the world of anyone except white middle-class heterosexual women. In fact, the vast majority of her modern female connections to Artemis are white women - such as Cheryl Strayed and Katniss Everdeen,

(3) Her knowledge of modern anthropological theory is pretty bad. She perpetuates the 'great mother goddess' myth and other myths about female menstruation experiences in Native American culture, without providing any footnotes or references (probably because there aren't any). In fact, her statements are a bit intellectually embarrassing considering her education and background. Now, I would personally love to embrace the concept of there being a prehistoric 'great mother goddess' cult that encircled the globe and was embraced by all the Paleolithic and Neolithic people of the time, but the truth is that there is absolutely no evidence of this. (Sorry, the very small handful of 'goddess' figurines, such as the Venus of Willendorf does not mean that all human beings on earth at the time were worshiping the great mother goddess.) Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? No. Is there solid evidence of it? No. There is also no evidence of Bronze- and Iron-age people being wholly matriarchal. This entire theory came about in the 19th century and today no legitimate historian or anthropologist would even consider making any sort of blanket statement supporting it. Also, "moon lodges" are not something that appeared throughout all Native American culture, like Bolen suggests. And, by insinuating otherwise, Bolen is perpetuating serious problematic stereotypes about Native American culture and Native American females.

(4) The application of Jungian psychology is stretched beyond the breaking point (quite frankly leaving me with a significant decrease in my respect for Jungian theories.) In reading this book, I was reminded of the old saying "when you have a hammer everything becomes a nail." I get it that Bolen is a Jungian analyst, but it is almost embarrassing the extent to which Bolen creates (ad nauseam) the most tenuous Jungian relationships between the goddess archetypes/myths and the female mind. It's as if all she can see or understand is Jungian theory, with no possibility of other legitimate psychological application. Her extreme fixation on Jungian theory reminds me of dogmatic religious or highly superstitious people, who find ways to fit every life experience into a religious or conspiracy context.

(5) The book is poorly written. Topics jump around and often seem disconnected or very poorly connected. Also, far too often, you find sentence structure that is just downright awful.

All in all, I definitely wouldn't recommend this book. I had to force myself to finish it.

[Araminta Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jean Shinoda Bolen's approach to feminist psychological archetype. I am less excited about the few false dichotomies of gender smattered into theory, but overall, this was a wonderful book about my once-and-always favorite Greek Goddess figure (since I first discovered them at age 8). She's always been my favorite (until I decided Medusa was a Goddess, too, and not just a creature...)

[Chaitra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mehhh! DNFed

It was totally a disappointment. As the title suggested I thought it's a book on the goddess Artemis but nah it's about things that the author wants to connect with the 'archetype' of Artemis.

She rather goes on to talk of Atalanta and that's story stretches no more than a page to which the author keeps going back to just to make a point.

The point is feminist aspect. She does talk about the goddesses' archetype present in women. It's more of a book on how women resist, fight and never back down but definitely not a book on Artemis at all

Although I was disappointed with it I hoped to at least understand the archetype of goddess but even that doesn't get much explored. Anything she talks of barely goes beyond the surface level discussion. I wasn't understanding what exactly the author was trying to tell us. She says she wants to explore Artemis through Atalanta but that's not done either.

Then she brings in other goddesses and I didn't feel like to read anymore.

I understand the point the author was making and I admit it's a good attempt but even the point she was trying to make didn't kept me interested in too. The book's too bland and I hate the fact I actually thought I'd read everything about one of my favourite goddesses when it wasn't the case at all!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW- mention of SA

to read this book and have a very good grasp on the material, you really have to have read Bolen’s previous work, “Goddesses in Everywoman.” This book focuses on one of the many feminine archetypes, the Artemis archetype.

For me, having a soul that expresses extremely naturally in the Artemis archetype, learning about this archetype through symbols, insight, and stories was very impactful. I loved the interpretation of Artemis through the life of Atalanta.

Still, there’s flaws to this writing. To begin, although Bolen is a massive feminist and incredible woman, she seems to “victim blame” young girls who were brutally assaulted . I understood the point she was trying to make, but she should not have used real life girls and their stories as a way to critique and get her point across. There was another moment there at that point around page 50 where she calls a brutal r*pe “f******” - which felt extremely offputting to read. I actually put down the book for 2 weeks due to that.

I wished those few pages were taken out, because I loved the book without these aspects, and the way I was able to feel seen and related to through the exploration of Artemis.

[Gil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Bolen’s Goddesses in Everywoman before this, and sadly, Artemis was not as compelling as Goddesses was. Goddesses had a good balance between theory/archetype and anecdotal evidence, and I was expecting the same proportion in this book. I was especially intrigued about the Selene/Hecate aspects of Artemis, but Bolen did not delve into those much. This read more like a girl power manifesto, which would be fine had it set out to be a girl power manifesto, which it didn’t... I think.

2 stars. Bolen writes well, but this book just wasn’t what I’d expected it to be.

[Willa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after another one of Bolen’s book “The Goddesses in Everywoman”, which was my introduction to her application of Jungian archetypal exploration using Greek mythology. I was particularly captured by two goddesses: Aphrodite and Artemis and was delighted to find she had written a whole book about Artemis! I really enjoy this concept and practice of using myths or stories to understand more about elements of the human psyche. I find it to be a really rich area for capturing nuance and essence of character and for me, the Artemis archetype captures a part of me that I’ve not had the words for before.

The Artemis archetype is a sister, competitor, goal achiever, and protector. She has a strong sensitivity against injustice and bullying. She is a goddess of the moon, with an affinity for self reflection, and a goddess of hunt, with an affinity for direction, intentionality, protection, and skill development (particularly in the art of fighting). A major landscape for her is the wilderness:

“Wilderness is a metaphor landscape; it is where you are in life when you are in between one major phase or identity and the next. It’s time to make your own way […] To find yourself psychologically in a metaphoric wilderness or underworld is to cross into your own interior works — a world that may contain painful memories you have put aside and feelings you may have suppressed, when bad things happen to you — like Meleager dying at the height of Atalanta’s accomplishments — there is a danger of seeing yourself as a victim , of becoming depressed and stuck, or full of blame and rage”

[Olha]

This book is very good, as every book of Jean Shinoda Bolen.
It uncovers Artemis archetype from different perspectives.

The myth of Atalanta and Meleager is analyzed in details. The author defines today's Meleager/Hippomenes as "supportive, protective, egalitarian men".
Goddesses of the Moon are described. Selene/Endymion one-side love story is a general example for non-physical attraction between people (new terms "homoerotic" and "bro-mance" relationships).
Hestia archetype comes from lifetime experience and means wisdom and development of inner self in the third part of life.

Some of the non-positive reviewers say that the book should be psychological, while about a half of it consists of sociological statistics and history of feminism. But Artemis is the goddess, closest to the struggle for women rights.
For example, the book says that in the USA women were not allowed to take part in marathons till 1970-ties. Is that fact boring? Atalanta was a natural runner.
Contemporary women, who are Atalanta's: Arya Stark, Gloria Steinem, Sheryl Sandberg, Marina Chapman. Arya Stark, Carl! :)

Oh, and she gives the definition of intuition: "Intuition is a perception of patterns - a way of seeing how present circumstance and relationship grew from the past and the direction they may move in the future". One very intuitive guy with whom I shared this definition, rephrased that "it's unconscious experience".

In general, this book is about freedom.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved “Goddesses in Everywoman” and identify with the Artemis archetype. The whole concept of Goddesses as archetypes is fascinating to me. I just felt that there wasn’t enough material to cover the Artemis archetype in a separate book. I thought that there was a lot of repetition in this book although I appreciated the analogies to real women.

My favorite quote that really resonated with me.
“The wilderness is beautiful – nature is. Whether actually or metaphorically, there is beauty and timelessness to be found in the wilderness, and in yourself when you leave your usual life behind and follow the impulse that leads you to do what you love and be where you want to be. Doing something that is really hard is satisfying “

[The Wylie Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Much of the book resonated very strongly with me, but there are valid critiques that the content suffers from a lack of intersectionality. Would love to see an updated edition that takes diverse feminist perspectives into account.

[Marifer Esqueda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo dejé por un tiempo y al retomar me gustó más! Habla de los arquetipos de las diosas y cómo cada mujer puede identificarse a lo largo de su vida

[Profumodipaginescritte Roby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho amato così tanto questa scrittrice che non ho potuto fare a meno di acquistare questo volume! Il sottotitolo del testo è “Lo spirito indomito dentro la donna”. Vi state chiedendo come mai? Ve lo spiego!

Questo spirito indomito fa riferimento alle donne che hanno dentro di sé l’archetipo Artemide, la dea greca della caccia e della luna, conosciuta come Diana dai romani. Lei era la sorella gemella di Apollo.
Artemide passeggiava tra i boschi, armata di arco e faretra in compagnia dei suoi segugi ed insieme alle ninfe. Trasse in salvo la madre più e più volte ed era sempre pronta ad aiutare chiunque la venerasse come dea. L’archetipo Artemide è un modo per spingere alle relazioni paritarie, per considerare l’uomo e la donna sullo stesso piano. Lo spirito indomito è proprio della Dea e, qualche volta, una donna sulla terra può godere dello stesso spirito.

All’interno del testo non si parlerà, tuttavia, solo di Artemide ma soprattutto di Atalanta, una donna mortale- famosa cacciatrice e campionessa di corsa- che rispecchia in tutto e per tutto la Dea. Si dice che sopravvisse alla morte perché fu salvaguardata da Artemide stessa.
Il testo, quindi, è ricco di miti e leggende sulla figura di Atalanta, facendo riferimento al suo amore per Meleagro e del successivo rapporto con Ippomene. Dal punto di vista psicologico, si sottolineano i concetti di solidarietà, indipendenza, passione, intuizione e libertà che possiede la donna il cui archetipo predominante è proprio Artemide. Questo libro è ricco di spunti interessanti che riguardano le dee della luna (Artemide- Selene- Ecate) , di nuove scoperte e di una nuova visione del mondo. Vi consiglio questa lettura prima di “Le dee dentro la donna”. Potrete conoscere Artemide nelle sue variegate sfaccettature e soltanto dopo, vi consiglio di approcciarvi al testo completo in modo da capirne sempre di più!

[Virginie Maltais-Marien · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 étoiles pour ce livre.

Je trouve que l'auteure ne mets pas au clair au départ ce qu'est l'archétype présenté. Oui, certains aspects sont présentés et constants lors de la lecture, mais la façon dont cet archétype est présenté au fur et à mesure le rend confus.

En effet, sauf pour les aspects relationnel, Artémis semble intégrer plein d'archétypes et semble être l'archétype "idéal".

L'auteure va même parler contre des femmes ayant un autre archétype avant d'intégrer les aspects de ce même archétype à Artémis ou à elle-même.

Le plus gros défaut de ce livre sont les anecdotes personnelles et les fins argumentaires. Souvent, on se demande quel est le lien avec la théorie présenté ou présentent des lignes qui demandent interprétations de la part du lecteur. Personnellement, cela me frustrait grandement.

Les théories, les légendes, les faits rapportés ainsi que les vécus des autres femmes, eux, étaient souvent pertinents et éclairaient certains point. C'est surtout lorsque l'auteur faisait de l'interprétation ou qu'elle idolâtrait trop l'archétype que je me fâchais et que je décrochais complètement.

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that I am not as particularly intrigued by this book as her pevious work, "Crossing to Avalon," which I read years ago and was ready to jump on a plane and follow her path. There are mistakes in this book which are glaring, such as referring to FGM as FMG, not once but twice. This is not a mistake to make in a woman's book. As a writer, I find this a turnoff that established writers can get away with these things. It is disappointing. I feel that I have embodied Artemis my entire life, though not by choice until more recently. This is why I picked this book up. The second reason that always annoys me in non-fiction, is the redundancy that flows throughout. I often think to myself that they could write the same book minus about 100 pages. I am sure many feminists will enjoy this because they need to read these books to feel they are part of the club. I will finish it at some point because I want to see what else there is to read.

[Vanessa Roussos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but found that my copy had a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. I'm very pedantic when it comes to grammar, so that annoyed me and sometimes made it hard to concentrate - especially where the errors were consistent. Otherwise, the book itself was interesting. I liked the combination of mythology with 'real world' scenarios and the overall uplifting tone of the book.

[Kaitlyn Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An empowering and captivating book that inspires women of all ages to find that inner strength that they possess within themselves.

[Chilidilibri Chilidilibri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eppure vorrei avere un’Artemide più forte. Ho scelto questo libro per imparare come si possa diventare un po’ più lei, quali sono le sue caratteristiche da sviluppare. Perché a volte non mi sento abbastanza determinata, abbastanza amante della natura, so di non essere sempre stata nella sorellanza (motivo per cui preferisco Artemide ad Atena: Artemide sostiene le donne, Atena il patriarcato).

🎯 Ce l’ho fatta? Sì e no. No perché non sarò mai determinata come lei, ho dee troppo forti dentro di me a cui non intendo rinunciare, perché mi fanno stare bene. Sono stata Proserpina per anni, poi Demetra ed Era, e ho scoperto di essere stata tanto anche Artemide. E di esserlo ancora. E quindi sì, ci sono riuscita perché ho visto l’Artemide che è in me. È pazzesco che uno dei suoi animali sia l’orsa e che io da più vent’anni veda un’orsa nelle mie visualizzazioni. Solo ultimamente la vedo meno, ma perché, credo, ha esaurito il suo scopo e il suo messaggio.

Il resto della recensione è qui: https://chilidilibri.altervista.org/a...

[María Jesus Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si eres una mujer que siente que le toco luchar en la vida, que le gusta la soledad y mira las relaciones de pareja de una manera mas de compañerismo que un amor romántico, eres Artemisa. Es un libro que calma el alma para aquellas que se sienten distintas, o que siguen un camino diferente al que la mayoría sigue.
Anteriormente ya había leído diosas de cada mujer, y mi arquetipo esta entre Atenea y Artemisa, por lo que quería profundizar mas en el arquetipo. Artemisa es la diosa de este siglo: del feminismo, la hermandad entre mujeres, el empoderamiento, etc.. una mujer que busca y encuentra.

Un libro para reflexionar y sentir esa energía única.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite honestly, this book is all over the place. But there's so many good chunks of realization that served as great inspiration for reflection. While I don't fully identify with the Artemis archetype (probably more Athena if anything), this analysis serves as an awesome inspiration to be more Artemis in actions and character. I also appreciated the sections about the Selene and virgin goddess archetypes in general.

[Pinball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up from 2.5...the idea of the archetypes were sound, but a lot of the "indomitable spirit" examples were "you can rape my body but you can rape my spirit; I can and will choose to never be a victim" and the overall rhetoric was steeped in second-wave feminism, which, for my taste/perspective, feels a little outdated. (I don't know if a decade would make that expectation reasonable with this subject matter of connecting myth to psychological archetype)

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring. This book describes my Goddess and her various aspects and situations in a way that empowers. In comparing bits of my life with these essays on the powers of Artemis and other Goddesses I feel more confident. With Jean Shinoda Bolen helping to carry the lantern through the forest I am pushed gently to go on even in the darkest times following the Greek mothers.

[Josephine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book at all - probably stopped at the 40% mark. It feels very outdated, very antiquated. Her ideas of feminism does not resonate anymore. It is a mish mash of archetypes, and not focused on Artemis. Instead, it sounds incoherent and messy, almost as if she wants to squeeze in as many ideas as possible. Does not feel well-researched.

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un testo meraviglioso, nonostante sia un saggio mi ha emozionato, in diversi passaggi mi sono commossa.
Un testo fondamentale oggi, che ogni giovane donna dovrebbe leggere, a ribilanciare un po' la visione della donna più classica, nei ruoli di figlia, moglie e madre. Perché c'è anche altro nella vita 💗

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

I feel like this wasn’t really about Artemis at all. It was a mishmash of feminism info dumping with a ton of outdated references. I mean, are we really citing The Feminine Mystique in 2024? No, because it’s not intersectional at all. I can’t believe an academic would write a book about feminism and exclude citations from bell hooks…

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this book. I went into it thinking it would be mainly about Artemis. And Artemis myths. But there is a small portion that’s about Artemis. And a big chunk is about the Atalanta myth. Plus other goddesses and accounts of other women and the author tries to tie it back to Artemis. Overall, I was fairly disappointed.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim, as I've always been attracted to the moon goddess aspects of Ms. Artemis. Didn't understand that this was kind of a self-help-through-mythological-archetypes sort of book, which vacillated between feeling a bit juvenile (lots of references to Katniss?) and a bit you-go-girl (as if largely directed toward ladies who've just gone through a divorce). Nothing wrong with any of that - I just was hoping for more on the moon side.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look at the archetypes of goddesses that can be a part of women in different stages of their lives. Remained engaging throughout as well which is no small feat for the subject matter.

[Jackie Mather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, am sad to have reached the end. Learned a ton about myself in reading this. Has been very insightful to read as an Artemis-type myself. Will take the lessons with me along my way into crone-hood. Very interested in checking out more by Jean.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so helpful to me and it was truly inspiring! it helped me become excited to walk my path in life. I would recommend this to women of all ages.