Women, myth, and the feminine principle / Bettina L. Knapp.
Material type:
- text
- computer
- online resource
- 0585057583
- 9780585057583
- 291.1/3/082 21
- BL325.F4 K54 1998eb
Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-260) and index.
The divine feminine in Tibet's Gesar of Ling -- Kalidasa's Sanskrit drama, Sakuntala : from passivity to adamantine essence -- The Nibelungenlied : Kriemhild and Brunhild : the obsessive/compulsive stress syndrome -- The Quich�e Mayan Popol Vuh : mother participates in the creation -- Racine's Phaedra : "The horror of remorse" -- Yeat's Deirdre : an Irish/Celtic feminist and heroine -- I.B. Singer's "Yentl the Yeshival boy" : gender deconstruction and the fashioning of the modern woman.
Print version record.
"The book begins by probing the "Divine Feminine" in Tibet's Gesar of Ling, one of the most fascinating myths of all time. Especially intriguing is the hero's seemingly continuous dependency on the feminine principle for guidance. The heroine in Kalidasa's Sanskrit drama, Sakuntala focuses on the obstacles set in Sakuntala's earthly trajectory, and how these were instrumental in her evolution from the stage of passive, unconscious, and withdrawn archetypal Maiden to that of the conscious, decisive, strong spiritual Mother. To explore the highly complex personalities of Kriemhild and Brunhild in the High German Nibelungenlied is to enter the realm of sun and shadow, the lightened regions of consciousness and the deep interiors of primal darkness. Quiche Mayas's Popul Vuh introduces a primordial couple as active participants in the creation of humankind while Racine's Phaedra projects the dramatist's own gnawing religious conflicts onto his mythical heroine: questions of guilt, remorse, anguish, and fatality/predestination. Yeats's Irish/Celtic feminist and heroine, Deirdre, underscores her inner strength, fortitude, and courage in the face of death while I.B. Singer's "Yentl the Yeshivah Boy" depicts the struggle confronting a young girl from an orthodox Polish Jewish family as she attempts to break out of an ultrapatriarchal society."--Jacket.
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