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Mothers and Amazons
Book by Helen Diner, Brigitte Berger
280 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1973
About the author
Bertha Eckstein-Diener
5 books2 followersBertha Eckstein-Diener (18 March 1874, Vienna – 20 February 1948, Geneva), also known by her American pseudonym as Helen Diner, was an Austrian writer, travel journalist, feminist historian and intellectual. Her book Mothers and Amazons (1930), was the first to focus on women's cultural history. It is regarded as a classic study of matriarchy.
She was a member of the "Arthurians," a group of European intellectuals active in the 1930s, each of whom adopted a name from Arthur's Round Table (Diner was Sir Galahad). Each member undertook to research an area of knowledge hitherto little known to Western culture. Diner set out to document a feminist history of women, and infused her book Mothers and Amazons (Mütter und Amazonen) with lyrical and poetic language.
She was a member of the "Arthurians," a group of European intellectuals active in the 1930s, each of whom adopted a name from Arthur's Round Table (Diner was Sir Galahad). Each member undertook to research an area of knowledge hitherto little known to Western culture. Diner set out to document a feminist history of women, and infused her book Mothers and Amazons (Mütter und Amazonen) with lyrical and poetic language.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2019
A remarkable account of matriarchal influence throughout history that, while incredibly researched, is unfortunately so dated it should only be taken with a tremendous amount of salt, or a constant wiki search. That is if you're okay with dodging the occasional racist classist bias frequent in academia at large during the majority of the 20th century, which author Bertha Eckstein-Diener is unfortunately unable to avoid. Infinitely interesting, yes, but maybe not to be taken as more than a base attempt at piecing together the torn tapestry of historic womanhood, itself a noble but seemingly futile cause amidst the raging insatiable fire of the patriarchy that burns all who question it. Maybe one day we'll know the truth.
January 15, 2020
I first read this book at the library when I was in college and I loved it. Unfortunately it was no longer in print, so at that time (long before the internet and eBay) I spent about $40 in change and spent an afternoon at the library photocopying the book. I still have it in a 3-ring binder. Maybe some day I'll see about ordering a used copy online.
November 12, 2023
Es bastante utópico. De mediados del digo XX por lo que muchas cosas de las que dice han quedado ya atrás. Algunas teorías son muy random y muy WTF
Es interesante leerlo pero a mi me ha cansado bastante.
Se basa básicamente en el trabajo de Bachofen y Briffault. Como todos los libros de esa época , es racista, se entiende con el contexto pero aún así cuesta de leer.
Es interesante leerlo pero a mi me ha cansado bastante.
Se basa básicamente en el trabajo de Bachofen y Briffault. Como todos los libros de esa época , es racista, se entiende con el contexto pero aún así cuesta de leer.
August 9, 2024
A 1930 ‘FEMININE HISTORY OF CULTURE’
Bertha Eckstein-Diener ("Helen Diner"; 1874-1948) was an Austrian writer, travel journalist, and feminist historian. She also wrote 'Emperors, Angels and Eunuchs - The Thousand Years of the Byzantine Empire,' as well as other books.
She wrote in the Preface to this 1930 book, "This is the first feminine history of culture. It endeavors to remain as one-sided as possible, one-sided in that direction which has never so far enjoyed a graphic representation... Unfortunately, it was not possible to include exhaustive notes or a bibliography... Two personalities are responsible for the best portion of this work: for its depth, it was J.J. Bachofen, the great discoverer of matriarchal society ['Myth, Religion, and Mother Right']; its ethnographic breadth was added by Robert Briffault ['The Mothers']." (Pg. ixx-xxi) Later, she concludes that "Bachofen's greatness... [lay] in his manner of tracing matriarchy through all of its many faces in the diverse realms scattered all over the earth." (Pg. 215)
She states, "The religious structure of every era contains its most vital and fundamentally true elements. This religious structure confers the realities of power. Veneration of woman as a goddess would have been incompatible with making her a slave on earth." (Pg. 19)
She asks, "But how could [patriarchy] have been possible in the beginning, since the female clan held the priesthood and exercised magic power over the people as the most important privilege of gynocracy?.. Dynastic incest... could only have been possible because it was furthered by the women for emotional reasons. The wooing of the brother simply was preferred to any other... In the matriarchy the brother simply is the only man that counts." (Pg. 63)
She argues, "The further a social structure removes itself from the matriarchy, the more is the sanctity removed from this taboo of femininity. The Church Fathers regarded it more as a taboo of the satanic element than anything holy; this is so much the more true of Puritanism, which considered that its duty before God was to keep down the women in an iron wise in inconspicuousness, since every one of them bore within herself a miniature replica of the satanic pit." (Pg. 155)
She observes that in many African kingdoms, "Women were often the real rulers even where a man exercised the nominal power." (Pg. 179)
This book is a true "classic" of the proto-women's movement, and will be of more than purely "historical" interest.
Bertha Eckstein-Diener ("Helen Diner"; 1874-1948) was an Austrian writer, travel journalist, and feminist historian. She also wrote 'Emperors, Angels and Eunuchs - The Thousand Years of the Byzantine Empire,' as well as other books.
She wrote in the Preface to this 1930 book, "This is the first feminine history of culture. It endeavors to remain as one-sided as possible, one-sided in that direction which has never so far enjoyed a graphic representation... Unfortunately, it was not possible to include exhaustive notes or a bibliography... Two personalities are responsible for the best portion of this work: for its depth, it was J.J. Bachofen, the great discoverer of matriarchal society ['Myth, Religion, and Mother Right']; its ethnographic breadth was added by Robert Briffault ['The Mothers']." (Pg. ixx-xxi) Later, she concludes that "Bachofen's greatness... [lay] in his manner of tracing matriarchy through all of its many faces in the diverse realms scattered all over the earth." (Pg. 215)
She states, "The religious structure of every era contains its most vital and fundamentally true elements. This religious structure confers the realities of power. Veneration of woman as a goddess would have been incompatible with making her a slave on earth." (Pg. 19)
She asks, "But how could [patriarchy] have been possible in the beginning, since the female clan held the priesthood and exercised magic power over the people as the most important privilege of gynocracy?.. Dynastic incest... could only have been possible because it was furthered by the women for emotional reasons. The wooing of the brother simply was preferred to any other... In the matriarchy the brother simply is the only man that counts." (Pg. 63)
She argues, "The further a social structure removes itself from the matriarchy, the more is the sanctity removed from this taboo of femininity. The Church Fathers regarded it more as a taboo of the satanic element than anything holy; this is so much the more true of Puritanism, which considered that its duty before God was to keep down the women in an iron wise in inconspicuousness, since every one of them bore within herself a miniature replica of the satanic pit." (Pg. 155)
She observes that in many African kingdoms, "Women were often the real rulers even where a man exercised the nominal power." (Pg. 179)
This book is a true "classic" of the proto-women's movement, and will be of more than purely "historical" interest.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews