Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives
by Jean Shinoda Bolen
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A classic work of female psychology that uses seven archetypcal goddesses as a way of describing behavior patterns and personality traits is being introduced to the next generation of readers with a new introduction by the author. Psychoanalyst Jean Bolen's career soared in the early 1980s when Goddesses in Everywoman was published. Thousands of women readers became fascinated with identifying their own inner goddesses and using these archetypes to guide themselves to greater self-esteem, show more creativity, and happiness. Bolen's radical idea was that just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they were also unconscious of powerful archetypal forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel, and which account for major differences among them. Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns and their interrelationships offers reassuring, true-to-life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. And she demonstrates in this book how understanding them can provide the key to self-knowledge and wholeness. Dr. Bolen introduced these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women could identify, from the autonomous Artemis and the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter and the creative Aphrodite, and explains how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better "heroine" in one's own life story. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I read this book as a senior in college, and more than twenty years later I still come back to its wisdom and insights.
Bolen, a Jungian psychologist, uses seven Greek goddesses as archetypal templates to help women -- and men -- understand some of the powerful psychological patterns that operate in women's lives. She divides them into three categories: the vulnerable (Hera, Demeter, Persephone) who are defined by their relationships; the virgin (Hestia, Athena, Artemis) who are not defined by their relationships; and Aphrodite, whom she calls "The Alchemical Goddess" who has relationships but is not hurt by them in the way the vulnerable goddesses are. Each archetype has its strengths and riches, and each has its shadows and show more challenges.
While no one goddess sums up any one women, Bolen's illumination of how the ancient stories convey forces that remain part of our psyches today is extremely valuable. I highly recommend it. show less
Bolen, a Jungian psychologist, uses seven Greek goddesses as archetypal templates to help women -- and men -- understand some of the powerful psychological patterns that operate in women's lives. She divides them into three categories: the vulnerable (Hera, Demeter, Persephone) who are defined by their relationships; the virgin (Hestia, Athena, Artemis) who are not defined by their relationships; and Aphrodite, whom she calls "The Alchemical Goddess" who has relationships but is not hurt by them in the way the vulnerable goddesses are. Each archetype has its strengths and riches, and each has its shadows and show more challenges.
While no one goddess sums up any one women, Bolen's illumination of how the ancient stories convey forces that remain part of our psyches today is extremely valuable. I highly recommend it. show less
Every woman who has ever had any interest in psychology or mythology must read this book. It is excellent! Bolen unlocks the secrets behind the Greek myths and shows us that those goddesses are alive within each of us. And she does it in a way that is useful and insightful.
The foundation of the book is that mythology, in all its manifestations, is a representation of universal truth. Commonalities across cultures that had no interaction show that they come from a place that is common to all human experience, regardless of situation, culture, or influence.
Bolen focuses on the Greek Goddesses as archetypes for female behavior. The jealous wife as Hera, the focused Artemis, etc. But what is so great about these archetypes is that Bolen show more shows the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in each. She shows how they work together, how they conflict, and how to mediate between.
My only real struggle with the book is that I felt Bolen was a bit biased against some and towards others of the archetypes. She is clearly a strong Artemis, and tends to speak of Artemis in glowing terms. Persephone, Athena, and Hera don't fare nearly as well. I suspect this comes from her experience as a psychiatrist and seeing those types suffer more than others. That doesn't excuse devaluing those goddess types, though.
I can't speak highly enough of this book. If you haven't read it, go out and get it. If you have, pick up your copy and give it another go. Amazing! show less
The foundation of the book is that mythology, in all its manifestations, is a representation of universal truth. Commonalities across cultures that had no interaction show that they come from a place that is common to all human experience, regardless of situation, culture, or influence.
Bolen focuses on the Greek Goddesses as archetypes for female behavior. The jealous wife as Hera, the focused Artemis, etc. But what is so great about these archetypes is that Bolen show more shows the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in each. She shows how they work together, how they conflict, and how to mediate between.
My only real struggle with the book is that I felt Bolen was a bit biased against some and towards others of the archetypes. She is clearly a strong Artemis, and tends to speak of Artemis in glowing terms. Persephone, Athena, and Hera don't fare nearly as well. I suspect this comes from her experience as a psychiatrist and seeing those types suffer more than others. That doesn't excuse devaluing those goddess types, though.
I can't speak highly enough of this book. If you haven't read it, go out and get it. If you have, pick up your copy and give it another go. Amazing! show less
An excellent resource for understanding female archetypes whether you are looking for insight about yourself or other women in your life. I also found it useful as a writing tool to help define or understand complex (believable) female characters.
This is essential reading for all women. Understanding the different archetypes has aided me time and again to learn why other women are motivated in ways I don't understand. I have owned this for more than ten years and still love it.
As familiar as I am with both Jung's theories and Greek mythology, this added nothing. I would not routinely believe the truth found in anecdotes nor is perceived motivations. The writng was very sloppy and repetitive.
Just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they may also be unconscious of powerful forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel, and which account for major differences among women. Jungian psychoanalyst Jean Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns and their interrelationships offers reassuring, true-to-life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. And she demonstrates how understanding them can provide the key to self-knowledge and wholeness. Dr. Bolen introduces these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, then shows show more readers how to identify their ruling goddesses, how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become better "heroines" in their own life stories. Source: Publisher show less
Dr. Bolen introduced these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women could identify, from the autonomous Artemis and the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter and the creative Aphrodite, and explains how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better "heroine" in one's own life story.
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Author Information
Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, is a psychiastrist, a Jungian analyst, and an internationally known author and speaker. Her books include Goddesses in Everywoman, Goddesses in Older Women, and many others. She is a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California show more at San Francisco. She lives in Marin County, California. show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives
- Original title
- Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women
- Original publication date
- 1984-05-09
- People/Characters
- Artemis (Diety); Athena (Diety); Hestia (Diety); Hera (Diety); Demeter (Diety); Persephone (Diety) (show all 7); Aphrodite (Diety)
- Epigraph
- From the seed grows a root, then a sprout; from the sprout, the seedling leaves; from the leaves, the stem; around the stem, the branches; at the top, the flower. . . We cannot say that the seed causes the grow... (show all)th, nor that the soil does. We can say that the potentialities for growth lie within the seed, in mysterious life forces, which, when properly fostered, take on certain forms.
—M. C. Richards, Centering in Pottery, Poetry and the Person - Dedication
- To my mother, Megumi Yamaguchi Shinoda M.D.,
who was determined to help me grow up—as she hadn't—
feeling that I was fortunate to be a girl,
and could do whatever I aspired to as a woman. - First words
- I would like to invite you into this book, especially if you are one of those readers who might be, as I was, resistant to its theme.
--Foreword
Everywoman has the leading role in her own unfolding life story.
--Body text - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Love to you.
- Blurbers
- Bach, Richard; Nadelson, Carol; Brown, Rita Mae
- Original language
- American English
- Disambiguation notice
- This book's original subtitle was: A New Psychology of Women. In both later printings and international editions, the subtitle was changed to: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Sexuality and Gender Studies, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 155.633 — Philosophy & psychology Psychology Differential and developmental psychology Adults By Sex Women
- LCC
- HQ1206 .B54 — Social sciences The family. Marriage, Women and Sexuality The Family. Marriage. Women Women. Feminism
- BISAC
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- 1,377
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- 17,239
- Reviews
- 19
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- 9 — Dutch, English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 31
- ASINs
- 10