Myths of Mighty Women

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 Temptress, Protective Mother and Provider. This book is useful for therapists to read themselves and/or to give to their patients when they suffer from fantasies of the bad mother who does not want to be surpassed or the weak mother who cannot protect, or the therapist who wants to keep the woman patient in a weak and needy position.

Arlene Kramer Richards

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 , The Power of Goddesses and Strong Women , What do women want? Inanna and the might of women , Meng Jiangnü: reflections about a Chinese myth , Taiko, Japanese drumming: the light returns, our hearts beat, the body knows , Contributions Part I: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy , The Power of Victims, Avengers, and Tricksters , Three archetypes in myth: the goddess, the witch, and the mortal , Helen of Troy knocks 'em dead: a story of kidnapping, rape, revenge, and the aftermath , Miriam the prophetess and others: biblical heroines lost and found , Contributions Part II: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy , The Power of Mothers and the Goddesses within , Boadicea, warrior queen: a baby's perspective and an analysand's perspective , Medea, almighty mother , The mother of safety is the phantasied mother of power , Contributions Part III: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy , The Power of Women's Sexuality , The last word: Molly Bloom , The old crone , Contributions Part IV: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy , The Father's Contribution to Women's Power , Athena, Antigone, and their modern avatars , Heroines and mythology of contemporary girls , Contributions Part V: implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy , Part , Conclusion , Epilogue