Woman and Power in History

by Amaury De Riencourt

Reviews:

“Woman and Power in History, first published in 1974, promises ‘a comprehensive view of the influence, social position, economic status and cultural influence of women throughout the ages’.” (History Today).

“Every so often, important books come into print so quietly that they are not so much published as they are materialised. Then they lie around waiting to be discovered. … Woman and Power in History is that kind of book. … Mr. De Riencourt, a distinguished French historian, who has written books about Tibet, China, India and America, … drifts through history and even pre-history, applying the techniques of biology, philosophy and … from his immense research, describes and analyses categories of femininity: the virago, the witch, the reformed woman, the mediaeval lady.” (New York Times).

“Woman and Power in History by Amaury de Riencourt … combines scholarly analysis of sex differences from pre-history to the 20th century with unapologetic conservatism.” (The Sunday Times). “In his research for Woman and Power in History Amaury de Riencourt covered more or less the entire known world, from the Incas, Sumerians, Persians, Hellenes, Romans, Jews, early Christian Europeans, across China and India, the Islamic World, Western Europe’s Middle Ages, the French Reformation, Marxist Russia and China and the contemporary feminism in Europe and North America. Throughout all these regions and all these times, the author analyses the differences between men and women and, focusing on the woman, highlights her status against the ethical, social, economic, religious, political and artistic background of practically every known culture.” (Politika)

" . . scholarly and elegantly written . . . de Riencourt shows depth as well as scope . . . always immensely readable." (Publishers Weekly)

" . . a thoughtful, often penetrating conspectus marked by de Riencourt's customary wide research and scholarship. Amaury de Riencourt is a genuine rara avis among writers on intellectual subjects." (John Barkham Reviews)


Summary:

An analysis of woman's status from pre-history to the modern day, this book presents her place and role in virtually every known culture throughout history, against the ethical, economic, religious, artistic and political conditions which have determined it. This global study of woman's status, from Mother Goddess of the Palaeolithic era to contemporary woman, from the first feminist revolt in ancient Greece and Rome, to the present Women's Movement, stresses the difference between the western and more ancient civilizations of India and China, highlighting the images of Byzantine, mediaeval and reformed woman, the virago and the witch, and includes individual portraits, from Cleopatra to Indira Gandhi.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Nonfiction, Sociology, Philosophy

647 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Amaury de Riencourt to most modern readers is an enigma. Even the Internet doesn’t offer much about him. He was born in 1918 in Orleans France to family of historic nobility. He studied in France, North Africa and Switzerland achieving a Master’s Degree. During WWII he spent more than three years in the French Navy. For the next 20 years he traveled Asia, Africa the Balkans and America. He is the author of more than eight books, and he lectured extensively in the United States for four years; visiting 40 of the lower 48 states. (From: The Coming Caesars, 2014)

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaury_d...

Reviews

[Ferenc Holyba · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first few chapters that deal with prehistory up to the middle ages and christianity are very esoteric and point at de Riencourt’s talent for putting psychic knowledge into words. There is a mix of references that proves he was well-read but some of the stuff that comes across as if “it had been revealed to him in a dream” is just mind-blowing. I love the way that the left and the right brain work so well in his writing.

In the second part where he gets to contemporary (1974) issues is a bit more serious. He highlights that every time a revolution destroys gender roles and the family, they usually reassert themselves anyways. I agree with his conclusions that instead of striving for equality and sameness, the progress between the sexes should look like mutual recognition and valorisation of feminine qualities which are nowadays seen as fetters to being able to perform as a man in a man’s world. At the risk of sounding like a performative male, I believe women should not be seen as defective men, and deserve all the recognition for what they are, without forcing them to try to become men to earn respect.

He says women are naturally more conservative, whereas men are more likely to be advocates of rapid or violent changes or revolutions. What he kind of fails to notice is that this is not a left-right wing political divide, but instead it is a matter of women being the conservers of the dominant moral and ethical paradigm against men, who, if left unchecked, will destroy the social order. In modern times, this can be seen in the political divergence between men and women in western countries, where Gen Z women and men are extremely sharply divided between left and right. Because the dominant cultural, moral, ethical order in the last 60 years has been a sort of egalitarian, left-wing, liberal and progressive paradigm, that is why women are defending it, according to their conservative spirit, and the revolutionaries are the ones that would acknowledge differences and look at things as they are, not how they ought to be. But he does say that without women’s support, revolutions do not happen, so this might calm the fears about an incel revolution, or it might induce the revolutionaries to try to win the women over to their side by offering them recognition as women instead of forcing them to compete as defective men.

In the book he explains that women are capable of using power responsibly and efficiently, and brings up historic examples of them doing so. It’s not always as heads of state or politicians, but more often than not being really strong forces for moderation of men’s sometimes irrational impulses for war or risky economic decisions. It’s not always “positions of power” that give them the best opportunity to actually exercise power.

But he is right in that the objectification of human beings and the ignoring of the spiritual and emotional dimensions of humans is a mistake that is leading us to believe that sex can and should be done without feelings, that relationships are only good if they provide an economic benefit to us, and both men and women are only any good if they make a lot of money and have a strong career. Families and marriages don’t matter, the state will take care of your children and your disposable income will just be garnished to pay for alimony and child support.

It is a very thought-provoking read, I would recommend it for everyone. The only difficulty is getting a physical copy of it. I borrowed one from the Trinity College Library, but I know Amazon doesn’t have physical copies, only the e-book format.

[Dreaming Though Awake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining and educational exploration of how sex , gender differences and gender roles have influenced history from pre human times to the late 20th century in fields such as theology and philosophy.

4/5 stars.