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Knowing Woman: A Feminine Psychology
In this classic work, a noted Jungian analyst explores the division of the human psyche into masculine and feminine. Characteristic of feminine consciousness, she writes, is diffuse awareness, which recognizes the unity of all life and promotes acceptance and relationship. The masculine attitude is one of focused consciousness, the capacity to formulate ideas and to change, invent, and create. Concerned with the experience of women in a culture dominated by masculine values, the author discusses topics such as the animus (the masculine "soul image" in a woman's unconscious); women's roles in relation to work, friends, children, and lovers; and issues such as abortion, aging, and self-determination.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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April 12, 2012
I read this book because I want to understand women. Happily, I found that the book gave a lot of good clues.
The author died before this, her only book, was published, and she filled the book with the wisdom of her life’s work as a therapist. Not every chapter is about women. There’s a chapter on “actionless action” expressed with the Taoist Rainmaker story that Jungian authors use quite often. Her thoughts on purposelessness made more sense to me than any I’ve read from Taoist books. A footnote to the final chapter – “Soul Images of Woman” – explains that it was added to the original manuscript: “This lecture – keynote of the author’s thoughts – was found among her papers.”
She writes with the practical clarity of Welwood or Hollis, but she mentions active-imagination and conversations with archetypes like an old-school Jungian. Check out these quotes where she off-handedly mentions conversations with the animus:
“I know one woman who has a great deal of active imagination and talks to some twenty different aspects of her animus under different names. She will say: ‘I had a refreshing talk with Jim, the cowboy, yesterday,’ or ‘My learned friend Andrew told me so-and-so.’ But one day, in a rash, adventurous moment, she collected them all together in one room, and was surprised to find her knees shaking with terror at the assembled power she had conjured up.” Pg. 75
“Barbara Hannah, in a paper on the animus, quoted his answer to this question. He told her that he understood nothing of her world, but that he could not bear a vacuum, so he always slipped in when a vacuum occurred. He told her that he needed to know about our world as much as we needed to know about his, and that it is a woman’s business to enlighten him. In my own talks with the animus on this point he has expressed a similar idea, using the particular imagery in which he has shown himself to me. He has explained that he, the torchbearer, is an autonomous spirit whose sole concern is shedding light, focused light, light for its own sake.” Pg. 79
This book was published in 1973, and sometimes the women’s issues that she discussed seemed dated. I found myself asking whether things have changed since the book was written. I liked this, because the book made me look at myself and ask whether we (or I) have an attitude that’s evolved beyond 1973, and I had to consider the possibility that men are still the same. Here’s a quote as an example of that:
“As one young woman I know puts it, ‘Men like us to be creative because that is what makes us interesting, but they hate us to create as that’s trespassing on their preserves.’”
I liked that quote, because I was forced to ask myself whether I’m like that. Being a man, I never really noticed the problem until now. Here’s the continuation of that quote, with an interesting note about woman’s self-esteem:
“It is the unconsciousness of this resentment which shatters the woman for it is picked up by her in the unconscious where it fortifies her own doubts of her own powers. It appears as a masculine voice which reiterates over and over again in a half-caught whisper or a resounding shout, ‘You cannot do it, you are no good.’ I have yet to meet the woman who is not familiar with this voice.” Pg. 105
The following quote from the book, I shared with a therapist who I know. She wrote a response to it, which I’ll also include:
“The woman, who, in her desire for identification with her man, represses emotions as he has done, deprives not only herself but him as well. … A woman who has lost all her native contact with the irrational has ceased to be herself … The opposite situation where a wife drags her husband into her own emotional sphere, though luckily less frequent, is even more disastrous, for the man is brought to the verge of breakdown.” Pp. 101-102
The therapist I mentioned wrote in response to “where a wife drags her husband into her own emotional sphere”: “Of course this comes under the category of mutuality. Women also can get caught up in men's emotional spheres and go mad, or become at least really pissed off. It's all a matter of boundaries, wouldn't you say? How much intimacy, when to pull back, when to merge, take your chances, dangerous territory. I think we need a lot of luck to find the right mate, someone who has more or less the same inner guidance system who wants this certain amount of merging and no more...and no less.”
Here are a few other quotes from the book:
“The psychologists’ method of making individuals deal with the shadow within themselves, is making many intelligent citizens turn their backs on the problems of the outside world. Discouragement of natural rebels is no service to a democracy. But psychologists are so scared of allowing anyone to foster anything resembling a savior complex, that the dynamism that goes with a reforming zeal is being damped down and lost to the world. Great deeds can only be achieved when we are more than our little selves. When we are lent wings we should not reject them.
“Today the normal appears to be the modern goal. The normal? Could anything be more uninspiring? If a man can be got back into the labour market, able to carry out some dull little job, be some insignificant cog in the great anonymous machine of industry or civil service, the psychiatrist considers he has ably done his job; though he plunges the man back into the very society and the very work which had made him ill.
“Psychologists have inadvertently side-slipped into this dreary passion for normality. But I am not so sure that to be balanced is necessarily a virtue. Some urgent inner problem or some imbalance may actually provide the impetus for dealing with outer wrongs. The rebel who is stirred to action by injustice or cruelty to others may well have himself suffered from an inner tyrant which bullies him.
“Most geniuses in whatever field are, to ordinary eyes, more than a little mad. The heavy price some artists have to pay for their unusual insight may be lack of balance. The world would have been a poorer place without Van Gogh.
“The trouble is that psychologists believe they can see and explain patterns of behaviour. On certain levels maybe they can, but let us never forget the unique unknowableness of every individual soul.” Pg. 28
“I am an intuitive and I remember Jung once explained to me that I must not expect my fourth function, sensation, to be line a sensation of a sensation type. On the contrary, it would always appear to have a numinous quality. This is true. I have always despaired of mastering everyday reality with the same efficiency as other people I admire. At the same time matter, things, seem to behave much more oddly around me than they do with many of my friends. You see, to the intuitive it is the things of the senses which are magical not his intuitions which he takes as a matter of course.” Pg. 34
One section deals with psychological types of women, according to Toni Wolff: “…four basic types, maternal, hetaira, amazon and mediumistic.” The mediumistic most resembles Jung’s intuitive type, and I was particularly interested in this type, being an intuitive myself, though male.
“Toni Wolff’s fourth personality type is what she calls the mediumistic woman and here we have par excellence the woman whose principal role is that of mediator.” Pg. 67
“To quote Toni Wolff, ‘The mediumistic type is rather like a passive vessel for contents which lie outside it, and which are either being simply lived or else are being formed.’ In this sense she is immensely valuable in giving shape to what is still invisible.’” Pg. 67
“The mediumistic woman is, as Toni Wolff makes clear, not easy to discover, as she seldom appears in public ad is not publicly recognized as having a definite role to play; yet it is she more than mother, hetaira or amazon who renders the unique service to man of mediating to him the contents of the collective unconscious.” Pp. 68-69
“I should not like to give the impression that the mediumistic woman, mediator as she is, is wholly positive for man. She not only suffers more than most women from ego uncertainty which makes relationships difficult, but she can also be extremely dangerous. She may see too far and too deeply into the unconscious to be comfortable for those around her. As the mother of a family she may work havoc. She is apt to know what is happening before it has become visible in outer life and she is seldom wise enough to keep her knowledge to herself. Even if she does not voice her findings, she conveys them whether she means to or not.” Pg. 70
The author died before this, her only book, was published, and she filled the book with the wisdom of her life’s work as a therapist. Not every chapter is about women. There’s a chapter on “actionless action” expressed with the Taoist Rainmaker story that Jungian authors use quite often. Her thoughts on purposelessness made more sense to me than any I’ve read from Taoist books. A footnote to the final chapter – “Soul Images of Woman” – explains that it was added to the original manuscript: “This lecture – keynote of the author’s thoughts – was found among her papers.”
She writes with the practical clarity of Welwood or Hollis, but she mentions active-imagination and conversations with archetypes like an old-school Jungian. Check out these quotes where she off-handedly mentions conversations with the animus:
“I know one woman who has a great deal of active imagination and talks to some twenty different aspects of her animus under different names. She will say: ‘I had a refreshing talk with Jim, the cowboy, yesterday,’ or ‘My learned friend Andrew told me so-and-so.’ But one day, in a rash, adventurous moment, she collected them all together in one room, and was surprised to find her knees shaking with terror at the assembled power she had conjured up.” Pg. 75
“Barbara Hannah, in a paper on the animus, quoted his answer to this question. He told her that he understood nothing of her world, but that he could not bear a vacuum, so he always slipped in when a vacuum occurred. He told her that he needed to know about our world as much as we needed to know about his, and that it is a woman’s business to enlighten him. In my own talks with the animus on this point he has expressed a similar idea, using the particular imagery in which he has shown himself to me. He has explained that he, the torchbearer, is an autonomous spirit whose sole concern is shedding light, focused light, light for its own sake.” Pg. 79
This book was published in 1973, and sometimes the women’s issues that she discussed seemed dated. I found myself asking whether things have changed since the book was written. I liked this, because the book made me look at myself and ask whether we (or I) have an attitude that’s evolved beyond 1973, and I had to consider the possibility that men are still the same. Here’s a quote as an example of that:
“As one young woman I know puts it, ‘Men like us to be creative because that is what makes us interesting, but they hate us to create as that’s trespassing on their preserves.’”
I liked that quote, because I was forced to ask myself whether I’m like that. Being a man, I never really noticed the problem until now. Here’s the continuation of that quote, with an interesting note about woman’s self-esteem:
“It is the unconsciousness of this resentment which shatters the woman for it is picked up by her in the unconscious where it fortifies her own doubts of her own powers. It appears as a masculine voice which reiterates over and over again in a half-caught whisper or a resounding shout, ‘You cannot do it, you are no good.’ I have yet to meet the woman who is not familiar with this voice.” Pg. 105
The following quote from the book, I shared with a therapist who I know. She wrote a response to it, which I’ll also include:
“The woman, who, in her desire for identification with her man, represses emotions as he has done, deprives not only herself but him as well. … A woman who has lost all her native contact with the irrational has ceased to be herself … The opposite situation where a wife drags her husband into her own emotional sphere, though luckily less frequent, is even more disastrous, for the man is brought to the verge of breakdown.” Pp. 101-102
The therapist I mentioned wrote in response to “where a wife drags her husband into her own emotional sphere”: “Of course this comes under the category of mutuality. Women also can get caught up in men's emotional spheres and go mad, or become at least really pissed off. It's all a matter of boundaries, wouldn't you say? How much intimacy, when to pull back, when to merge, take your chances, dangerous territory. I think we need a lot of luck to find the right mate, someone who has more or less the same inner guidance system who wants this certain amount of merging and no more...and no less.”
Here are a few other quotes from the book:
“The psychologists’ method of making individuals deal with the shadow within themselves, is making many intelligent citizens turn their backs on the problems of the outside world. Discouragement of natural rebels is no service to a democracy. But psychologists are so scared of allowing anyone to foster anything resembling a savior complex, that the dynamism that goes with a reforming zeal is being damped down and lost to the world. Great deeds can only be achieved when we are more than our little selves. When we are lent wings we should not reject them.
“Today the normal appears to be the modern goal. The normal? Could anything be more uninspiring? If a man can be got back into the labour market, able to carry out some dull little job, be some insignificant cog in the great anonymous machine of industry or civil service, the psychiatrist considers he has ably done his job; though he plunges the man back into the very society and the very work which had made him ill.
“Psychologists have inadvertently side-slipped into this dreary passion for normality. But I am not so sure that to be balanced is necessarily a virtue. Some urgent inner problem or some imbalance may actually provide the impetus for dealing with outer wrongs. The rebel who is stirred to action by injustice or cruelty to others may well have himself suffered from an inner tyrant which bullies him.
“Most geniuses in whatever field are, to ordinary eyes, more than a little mad. The heavy price some artists have to pay for their unusual insight may be lack of balance. The world would have been a poorer place without Van Gogh.
“The trouble is that psychologists believe they can see and explain patterns of behaviour. On certain levels maybe they can, but let us never forget the unique unknowableness of every individual soul.” Pg. 28
“I am an intuitive and I remember Jung once explained to me that I must not expect my fourth function, sensation, to be line a sensation of a sensation type. On the contrary, it would always appear to have a numinous quality. This is true. I have always despaired of mastering everyday reality with the same efficiency as other people I admire. At the same time matter, things, seem to behave much more oddly around me than they do with many of my friends. You see, to the intuitive it is the things of the senses which are magical not his intuitions which he takes as a matter of course.” Pg. 34
One section deals with psychological types of women, according to Toni Wolff: “…four basic types, maternal, hetaira, amazon and mediumistic.” The mediumistic most resembles Jung’s intuitive type, and I was particularly interested in this type, being an intuitive myself, though male.
“Toni Wolff’s fourth personality type is what she calls the mediumistic woman and here we have par excellence the woman whose principal role is that of mediator.” Pg. 67
“To quote Toni Wolff, ‘The mediumistic type is rather like a passive vessel for contents which lie outside it, and which are either being simply lived or else are being formed.’ In this sense she is immensely valuable in giving shape to what is still invisible.’” Pg. 67
“The mediumistic woman is, as Toni Wolff makes clear, not easy to discover, as she seldom appears in public ad is not publicly recognized as having a definite role to play; yet it is she more than mother, hetaira or amazon who renders the unique service to man of mediating to him the contents of the collective unconscious.” Pp. 68-69
“I should not like to give the impression that the mediumistic woman, mediator as she is, is wholly positive for man. She not only suffers more than most women from ego uncertainty which makes relationships difficult, but she can also be extremely dangerous. She may see too far and too deeply into the unconscious to be comfortable for those around her. As the mother of a family she may work havoc. She is apt to know what is happening before it has become visible in outer life and she is seldom wise enough to keep her knowledge to herself. Even if she does not voice her findings, she conveys them whether she means to or not.” Pg. 70
November 1, 2020
Dois conceitos sobressaem deste livro, a objectividade masculina e a consciência difusa feminina. Dois conceitos interpenetrantes, tal como o binómio masculino/feminino. O foco masculino tende a debruçar-se apenas sobre o seu objecto, não percebendo a totalidade, que a consciência difusa permite à mulher apreender. O homem necessita desta para expandir o seu horizonte, a mulher da objectividade, para o limitar.
December 17, 2013
This book was given to me many years ago, along with Jung's "Memories, Dreams and Reflections", as well as his "Man and his Symbols". Referred by Jungian analyst and author of "The Goddess in Every woman" Jean Bolen, and writer and diarist Anais Nin, this book was published in 1973, in the middle of the nascent feminist movement in the United States. Insightful, spiritual and thoughtful, written in first person in an anecdotal manner, Castillejo's relates her thoughts about women, men, relationships in the context of a Jungian paradigm. Never academic in tone, it is written in very straightforward language. In sharp contrast with mid 20th century feminist idealogy, and in direct opposition to Simone de Beavoir, she contends that the condition of being born a woman comes with it an inherent psychology, view point and way of experiencing the world, emotions and relationships ; she bases her writings on her day to day observations as an analyst, as well as making personal contentions based on her own personal experience.
I did not start reading this book avidly until years later, it is now a permanent part of my night table books, and I read it once a year. Although out of print, it is easily obtainable used thru Amazon.
Although it can be thought of as a "chick book", I think both men and women can benefit and enjoy reading what she has to say.
My favorite quote is her thoughts on the contribution of artists to society:
"...in this kind of achievement artists are supremely important. A creative artist is a person who, in spite of the pressure of education and the need to adapt to society based on focused consciousness succeeds in never losing his contact with the field of diffuse awareness where the unbroken connection of all growing things still reigns. This explains the artist's state of continual conflict, and his often strange behavior. His art is not the result of a one-sided development, as has often been suggested, but of a greater capacity to live the whole of his personality; and whether his art sees the light of day or not, he had done something of immense significance, not only for himself for society as a whole".
Married to the enigmatic Spanish intellectual Jose Castillejo, they lived for sometime in a house with olive groves that still survives in the middle of bustling Madrid. It is now a foundation called "Olivar de Castillejo", and they feature both concerts and lectures. It is a magical place that I have been to.
http://www.fundacionolivardecastillej...
Her marriage to Jose Castillejo is detailed in a book called "I married a stranger", which was later translated into Spanish by her daughter, and entitled "Respaldada por el viento". Due to Castillejo's activities with the Instituto Libre de Esenjnanza, a school and academic entity that was helping to bring about the modernization of Spain, the Castillejo's where exiled from Spain during and after the Spanish Civil War.
I did not start reading this book avidly until years later, it is now a permanent part of my night table books, and I read it once a year. Although out of print, it is easily obtainable used thru Amazon.
Although it can be thought of as a "chick book", I think both men and women can benefit and enjoy reading what she has to say.
My favorite quote is her thoughts on the contribution of artists to society:
"...in this kind of achievement artists are supremely important. A creative artist is a person who, in spite of the pressure of education and the need to adapt to society based on focused consciousness succeeds in never losing his contact with the field of diffuse awareness where the unbroken connection of all growing things still reigns. This explains the artist's state of continual conflict, and his often strange behavior. His art is not the result of a one-sided development, as has often been suggested, but of a greater capacity to live the whole of his personality; and whether his art sees the light of day or not, he had done something of immense significance, not only for himself for society as a whole".
Married to the enigmatic Spanish intellectual Jose Castillejo, they lived for sometime in a house with olive groves that still survives in the middle of bustling Madrid. It is now a foundation called "Olivar de Castillejo", and they feature both concerts and lectures. It is a magical place that I have been to.
http://www.fundacionolivardecastillej...
Her marriage to Jose Castillejo is detailed in a book called "I married a stranger", which was later translated into Spanish by her daughter, and entitled "Respaldada por el viento". Due to Castillejo's activities with the Instituto Libre de Esenjnanza, a school and academic entity that was helping to bring about the modernization of Spain, the Castillejo's where exiled from Spain during and after the Spanish Civil War.
February 16, 2015
I was ready to listen and the book delivered it's message completely.
The following are a few quotes that spoke to me while pondering this book.
"To thine own self be true. My life depends on it."
"My word of honor to myself, this is the key."
"This is my truth, here is where I take my stand."
"To be sincere to my own feelings, to stand for my own inner knowledge."
"To see clearly enough to know something quite definitely, so solidly that one can express it and only than can I be be a torch bearer, moving forward with integrity, strength and truth, my own truth, my inner self."
"To move on with dedication, devotion and ultimately my own voice."
"Jesus says to us: "You are the light of the world, where I go, so shall you go."
"The more conscious we are the more we can become a torch bearer."
"A woman's tears accompany her deepest truth. An emotional response is usually a woman's surest guide to what belongs to her."
The book is full of explicit s but flows well in your understanding of your true self.
Relationship to herself, others and God is the only way for woman to understand her true self, nature, wherever or whomever it may happen, there is for her always relationship. This is her true essence, her true presence. To really love, a woman needs the full cooperation of others, to direct her need to the full measure of the need. It is not love to choke one's children with more milk then they can swallow. Nor, if a man asks for a sip of water, is it to throw him in a waterfall.
It is when purpose is lacking that the masculine (animus) becomes negative. A woman needs a bridge of spiritual attunement first before she is able, not willing, but able to trust herself to cross the bridge of sex.
If woman does not have spiritual goals, she becomes free to delve into the advance of science, material programs or politics. For woman if there is no God, there is a man to love. Placing all her energies on a man-woman relationship. She fills it with idealism, expectations and love. There are no limits. When it all goes into the marriage relationship, the very frailty of it's humanness, the marriage bursts asunder and leaves her desolate. If men without knowing it are taken over by their negative feminine side in the form of vanity, they can become victims of inhuman impersonality. They are spurned on to ever greater and greater heights and the needs of life are forgotten in the fascination of their own powers of creation.Turning it into an enemy to be repressed. The place to which the masculine and feminine are consciously experienced and related to one another within each individual rather than between an individual of the opposite sex.
Building bridges, sharing mutual responsibilities, joys, sorrows, strengthening the foundation to withstand storms. Not dwelling on your own bank of the river but walking has companions.
I could go on but then you wouldn't have to read the book.
The following are a few quotes that spoke to me while pondering this book.
"To thine own self be true. My life depends on it."
"My word of honor to myself, this is the key."
"This is my truth, here is where I take my stand."
"To be sincere to my own feelings, to stand for my own inner knowledge."
"To see clearly enough to know something quite definitely, so solidly that one can express it and only than can I be be a torch bearer, moving forward with integrity, strength and truth, my own truth, my inner self."
"To move on with dedication, devotion and ultimately my own voice."
"Jesus says to us: "You are the light of the world, where I go, so shall you go."
"The more conscious we are the more we can become a torch bearer."
"A woman's tears accompany her deepest truth. An emotional response is usually a woman's surest guide to what belongs to her."
The book is full of explicit s but flows well in your understanding of your true self.
Relationship to herself, others and God is the only way for woman to understand her true self, nature, wherever or whomever it may happen, there is for her always relationship. This is her true essence, her true presence. To really love, a woman needs the full cooperation of others, to direct her need to the full measure of the need. It is not love to choke one's children with more milk then they can swallow. Nor, if a man asks for a sip of water, is it to throw him in a waterfall.
It is when purpose is lacking that the masculine (animus) becomes negative. A woman needs a bridge of spiritual attunement first before she is able, not willing, but able to trust herself to cross the bridge of sex.
If woman does not have spiritual goals, she becomes free to delve into the advance of science, material programs or politics. For woman if there is no God, there is a man to love. Placing all her energies on a man-woman relationship. She fills it with idealism, expectations and love. There are no limits. When it all goes into the marriage relationship, the very frailty of it's humanness, the marriage bursts asunder and leaves her desolate. If men without knowing it are taken over by their negative feminine side in the form of vanity, they can become victims of inhuman impersonality. They are spurned on to ever greater and greater heights and the needs of life are forgotten in the fascination of their own powers of creation.Turning it into an enemy to be repressed. The place to which the masculine and feminine are consciously experienced and related to one another within each individual rather than between an individual of the opposite sex.
Building bridges, sharing mutual responsibilities, joys, sorrows, strengthening the foundation to withstand storms. Not dwelling on your own bank of the river but walking has companions.
I could go on but then you wouldn't have to read the book.
April 14, 2012
This was an excellent book and I got a lot out of it, I'm grateful for the detailed review from John that prompted me to read it. It's one of those books, for me, that I feel is important and that I'll return to and continue to gain insight from.
Read
January 5, 2013I started reading this book because my analyst suggested it. Some parts startled me because they read as though the author had somehow transcribed my own thoughts. Other parts made me feel irritable and skeptical. I will be thinking about this book for a long, long time.
April 21, 2025
This was brilliant, although parts were slightly dated. Still, the clarity of thought is immensely refreshing, and it still holds a lot of wisdom.
The following section shows the clarity of the writing, and is still, I think, deeply true in our modern era:
"Consciously men welcome women's emancipation but in the unconscious they despise her and are determined to keep her in her place. As one young woman I know puts it, 'Men like us to be creative, because that is what makes us interesting, but they hate us to create as that's trespassing on their preserves.'
"It is the unconsciousness of this resentment which shatters the woman for it is picked up by her in her unconscious where it fortifies her own doubts of her powers. It appears as a masculine voice which reiterates over and over again in a half-caught whisper or a resounding shout, 'You cannot do it, you are no good.' I have yet to meet the woman who is not familiar with this voice."
The following section shows the clarity of the writing, and is still, I think, deeply true in our modern era:
"Consciously men welcome women's emancipation but in the unconscious they despise her and are determined to keep her in her place. As one young woman I know puts it, 'Men like us to be creative, because that is what makes us interesting, but they hate us to create as that's trespassing on their preserves.'
"It is the unconsciousness of this resentment which shatters the woman for it is picked up by her in her unconscious where it fortifies her own doubts of her powers. It appears as a masculine voice which reiterates over and over again in a half-caught whisper or a resounding shout, 'You cannot do it, you are no good.' I have yet to meet the woman who is not familiar with this voice."
August 21, 2019
A wonderful book to read about woman psychology
It's start about meeting the inner woman in woman
How woman differ in relationship, a new concept of inner and outer woman in wife. How an husband struggle to satisfying the both..
How a woman struggle to remain Virgin. A suppression to control sex and their unconsciously of inviting rape
How an old woman are free from worrying of becoming pregnant and can enjoy sex ultimately and also
how contraceptive helps woman to really enjoy sex and retain them as it is like men and helps to work against the nature of becoming mother
And more and more
Superb book
It was so enlightening!!
It's start about meeting the inner woman in woman
How woman differ in relationship, a new concept of inner and outer woman in wife. How an husband struggle to satisfying the both..
How a woman struggle to remain Virgin. A suppression to control sex and their unconsciously of inviting rape
How an old woman are free from worrying of becoming pregnant and can enjoy sex ultimately and also
how contraceptive helps woman to really enjoy sex and retain them as it is like men and helps to work against the nature of becoming mother
And more and more
Superb book
It was so enlightening!!
February 22, 2023
An enlightening read that approaches womanhood and feminism from a Jungian psychological perspective. The author lays out her own thought processes that have led to her own conclusions on the feminine while also drawing on myths and other experts in the field. Still so much to take in and process, but if I could sum up my learnings in one thought: man is logic, woman is soul.
September 27, 2024
Simply brilliant, the way she described anima and question animus in woman gave me a whole new meaning and made much more sense than what I had previously read on the matter. She also infuses so much light into the concept of old woman. Full of wisdom in accessible language, highly recommended.
July 12, 2019
Changed my life.
Read
March 22, 2025good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2011
I am using this book as part of my research on the feminine spiritual memoir and it has been helpful. What few reviews and comments I can find about this book call it a classic. Why is it that I’ve never heard of it before and can find nothing on the author? Anyway, it is a good book… a bit dated but consistent with Jung and his “findings.” The author appropriately discusses the roles of women as well as other areas like the “rainmaker ideal” that seemed to be a bit off topic but interesting none-the-less. While some reviews have said that she uses very plain language that isn’t laced with Jungianisms, I would still recommend that the reader know just a bit about Jung and his ideas before attempting this book. I find, too, that while she has fully developed ideas about women and their roles, she also seems very concerned about the marriage relationship and the woman “taking care” of her “man.” This book was published in 1973 and appears to be compiled from her talks and papers. I was a little surprised with her language but had to remember that much of her work was done in the 1950’s and 1960’s. A worthwhile read for women who are interested in Jungian psychology and particularly those who consider themselves “spiritual.”
November 22, 2008
A very good and inspired approach to the feminine psyche. Jung talks alot about the feminine aspects of a man's psyche, but regarding the psyche the female, he is mysteriously silent. THerefore, this is a welcome female approach to the feminine psyche. I still find some flaws that just don't innately sit well (primarily when she is refering to the male psyche) but as the female suppliment to Jung's approach, it is invaluable.
April 20, 2017
Somewhat dated (actually v dated) & some tangents on spirituality I didn't quite connect with but I understand why Anais Nin was so into this-- some beautiful passages on the importance of communication with your partner & connection, promotes understanding instead of hostilities
January 16, 2009
This is a fabulous book with ties to Jungian Psychology that has been so helpful in the quest to experience my own self in gratitude.
May 3, 2018
I love this book...I have read it more than a few time and recommend it to my women friends.
December 10, 2017
Contained much wisdom but also had some disturbing passages and also chapters too heavy for my understanding.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews