THE GODDESS: Mythological Images of the Feminine

by Christine Downing

In a series of chapters each focusing on a different goddess or mythical woman, Christine Downing traces her own path of individuation from maiden-daughter to mature woman. A therapist, university professor of religion, and former president of the American Academy of Religion, she writes what is essentially an autobiography with an inner focus on her dreams and fantasies, and their meanings to her. She writes in a direct and intimate way, using to great bit effortless effect her deep culture and wide learning. — The Journal of Analytical Psychology

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Psychology, Goddess, Womens, Spirituality, Religion

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after "The Goddesses in Everywoman" by Jean Shinoda Bolen, and I was impressed by this book as much and in some ways even more.

The two books are very similar since they're both dealing with exploration of the Feminine Divine archetypes from Jungian point of view, but Christine Downing does it in a poetic, honest, autobiographical way from which my understanding of the topic benefited.

[Nut Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this after having read Bolen's "Goddesses in Everywoman," and was surprised by how radically different Downing's style was. Whereas Bolen analyzed the archetypes of all the major Greek goddesses of the first and second generations (children and grandchildren of Cronus), Downing limited herself to Persephone, Hera, Athene, Artemis and Aphrodite, while also including the Greek heroine Ariadne and Gaia, a primordial deity. In addition, where Bolen utilized a consistent structure for each chapter, discussing the mythology, archetypes, psychological difficulties etc, for each goddess, Downing discussed her selected goddesses in more varied ways. Importantly, Downing also spent a great deal of time detailing her personal experiences and feelings related to each goddess archetype, including extensive passages on dreams she thought were relevant.

I would not recommend this as an introduction to Greek goddesses as archetypes in Jungian psychology. However, if you already familiar with the archetypes, there are particular chapters that can enrich your understanding more. For example, I found Downing's discussion of the Hera archetype extremely helpful in learning more about the goddess' three-fold nature and underlying motivations. That being said, much of the book is fairly tiresome and she often goes on tangents that are only nominally related to the the goddesses in question. If you have the patience to plow through those sections, she occasionally offers some insightful analysis, but it may only be worth it if you are still looking for something more after having already exhausted all other existing literature on the subject.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I value the goddesses and other ancient creatures and believe they have some kind of meaning even at this distance, I found Downing's interpretation self-indulgent and so introspective as to be quite nearly uncomfortable. Her monolog to Aphrodite was especially boring, and I am not sure her reflections on the child image bear any resemblance to even the most personal reality.

[David S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won't go into great detail here because I want to re-read this classic of Mythological studies, autobiography and Archetypal Psychology before doing so: It is a wonderful book for the insights brought to bear on the ways of —not so much The Goddess, despite the title, but— The GoddessES,
of whom the particularity of each and the self-understanding to be gained from looking deeply into one's relationship to the stories in which She appears is not once-and-for-all, but can shift and evolve as one's life shifts and evolves.**
More to follow!

**Note: Having written this I just now picked up a replacement copy I ordered some time ago that contains an Afterword to the Continuum edition of 1996, 15 years after the original in 1981. I'd not noticed it before, so just now read it for the first time.
It contains the following sentence:

"I still don't really like the title which, as is true of many book titles, emerged as a compromise out of discussions among the editors, the marketing department, and the author. It seemed (and seems) strange to have a book so determinedly polytheistic in its perspective bear the title THE Goddess. But even I have come to call it that, to love it by that name."
(p. 249 of the iUniverse edition)

As do I, all the more so because it was exactly the 'strangeness' of the compromise title to which I referred above, in more or less exactly those terms! Because this IS a book (and an author) that I know well, I'm happy to discover that my attunement to its perspective, and its achievement,
remains strong, remains true!

David S. Cohen,
30 July 2022
Chula Vista, California

[Raúl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un muy peculiar libro que combina la mitografía, con la confesión personal y la psicología. La diosa no deja de tener cosas interesantes, auqnue me quede muy fría ante las confesiones de la autora, que no sé cómo catalogar, que me interesan bien poco.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not quite what I was expecting, a little bit memoir and less academic than I thought it would be. But it gave me a lot t think about and I highlighted all over and will go back to sections of it in the future.

[Maria Ripoll Cera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro denso, sin duda, pero muy interesante para acercarnos a los arquetipos de las diosas que dirigen nuestras vidas. En sintonía con el fuerte movimiento de recuperación de lo femenino ancestral, es una lectura muy interesante para quien esté dispuesto/a a profundizar parsimoniosamente.

[Caitlin H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book will benefit from a second reading, because this first time around, it felt very much like a mixed bag to me. Even though Downing starts off with an explanation of what she wants to set out to do in the book, it still seemed unclear to me exactly what she was talking about. For the majority of the book, i felt confused. I found myself thinking numerous times that, in order to fully understand what Downing was talking about, one would have to be acquainted with Freud & Jung, along with the other writers she mentions & quotes throughout the text. A few parts, like the chapter on Athene (& i would have liked some explanation as to why Downing spelled it so, as opposed to Athena) & the chapter on Gaia, felt more understandable to me for some reason. The others, like the chapter on Artemis, felt like a disconnected jumble with academic references & quotations that went over my head. It sometimes felt like Downing's language became confused & bogged down at points, as well.

However, i definitely want to reread it, because i feel as if on a second reading, i may begin to understand things better, &/or to maybe spend more time with them. I don't feel that it's a bad book, but i did often find myself wishing for some clarification that used less jargon (which is not the same as wishing it to be "dumbed down").

The title is misleading, i think. I picked it up because i was under the mistaken assumption that the book would be about looking at actual images-- depictions, artworks-- of the Goddesses discussed therein, & going from there. Downing rarely discusses visual images & depictions of the Goddesses; in fact, there is only ever one image per chapter, & right at the very beginning of it. I supposed Downing is discussing "images" in the sense of how the Goddesses are & have been perceived throughout time; nevertheless, it feels like the wrong word choice. I don't have a better suggestion, admittedly, but "images" doesn't feel correct after reading the book.

Overall, it is a read that probably shouldn't be taken lightly, & also not discarded in irritation, even if you come close to wanting to do so. It's probably helpful if you have some background knowledge in psychology, since Downing seems to constantly reference it, & probably other academics that i can't identify. She does, of course, weave in her own personal stories, which at best work to reenforce the more academic bits of the writing. At the worst, they feel disjointed & confusing, leaving me to wonder what the connection between certain things was, & why they were included. I kept reading because i wanted to understand what was being discussed, & because at times i felt the book was able to convey something wonderfully, i want to try reading it again, to see if i'm able to understand more, especially in those chapters where i felt the most confused.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots to ponder here. Similar, in some ways, to Bolen's Goddesses in Everywoman, but more autobiographical in nature.