Myths of mighty women : their application in psychoanalytic psychotherapy /
edited by Arlene K Richards and Lucille Spira.
- 1 online resource (273 pages)
- Psychoanalysis and Women Series .
- Psychoanalysis & women series. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
COVER; CONTENTS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; ABOUT THE EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS; SERIES EDITOR'S FOREWORD; PREFACE; Introduction: Mighty Medea, or why female figures from Greco-Roman antiquity matter today; Ancona's introduction: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapists; PART I THE POWER OF GODDESSES AND STRONG WOMEN; CHAPTER ONE What do women want? Inanna and the might of women; CHAPTER TWO Meng Jiangn�u: reflections about a Chinese myth; CHAPTER THREE Taiko, Japanese drumming: the light returns, our hearts beat, the body knows. CHAPTER FOUR Contributions Part I: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapyPART II THE POWER OF VICTIMS, AVENGERS, AND TRICKSTERS; CHAPTER SIX Helen of Troy knocks 'em dead: a story of kidnapping, rape, revenge, and the aftermath; CHAPTER SEVEN Miriam the prophetess and others: biblical heroines lost and found; CHAPTER EIGHT Contributions Part II: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy; PART III THE POWER OF MOTHERS AND THE GODDESSES WITHIN; CHAPTER NINE Boadicea, warrior queen: a baby's perspective and an analysand's perspective; CHAPTER TEN Medea, almighty mother. CHAPTER ELEVEN The mother of safety is the phantasied mother of powerCHAPTER TWELVE Contributions Part III: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy; PART IV THE POWER OF WOMEN'S SEXUALITY; CHAPTER THIRTEEN The last word: Molly Bloom; CHAPTER FOURTEEN The old crone; CHAPTER FIFTEEN Contributions Part IV: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy; PART V THE FATHER'S CONTRIBUTION TO WOMEN'S POWER; CHAPTER SIXTEEN Athena, Antigone, and their modern avatars; CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Heroines and mythology of contemporary girls. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Contributions Part V: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapyPART VI; CHAPTER NINETEEN Conclusion; EPILOGUE A tribute to Helen Meyers, MD; INDEX.
Women whose mothers were not called upon to achieve in a man's world have a difficult time seeing themselves as powerful enough to do that. Identifying with mighty women of the past and of the present culture can help them to permit themselves to achieve more than their mothers did. This book provides several such myths from ancient and modern cultures, from both Western and Eastern traditions, each of which is a standard for a particular aspect of female power and all of which can provide that power for women now. Among the aspects of women's power are Super Girl, Warrior Woman, Evil Temptres.