Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes the book "The Crone: Woman of Age, Wisdom, and Power" by Barbara G. Walker, a celebration of women and how women are learning more about each other and the male-dominated world they live in, every day. Specifically, it relates some of the book's theories to today's issues, including the significance and quality that leads one to broadening the understanding of woman's history. It also contains an analysis of how it correlates and contrasts to the theories presented in another book entitled: "The Chalice and the Blade" by Riane Eisler.
From the Paper "After reading Walker's treatise on woman as Goddess and woman as all-loving, one has to wonder what has happened to society today to change things so drastically. Women are no longer revered as all knowing and all loving. In fact, the author believes some of this resulting loss of love for women is a result of men, and their inhumanity to women. "Few men have tried to understand the real causes of man's inhumanity to women" (Walker 133), she writes, and one only has to look at the Islamic religion, and their total degradation of women, to understand what she means in today's terms. Women have no standing in Muslim countries, and are thought of mostly as beasts of burden and breeding machines. In the recent terrorism video of the infamous "wedding reception," shown on network news, the wedding reception consisted entirely of Muslim men, the bride was not even present at her own reception! This shows just how far women have fallen in many societies, and how far they need to go to gain true equality in the world."
Abstract This paper explains that the six strong women in Phillip Grove's novel "Settlers of the Marsh" can be categorized into four different literary archetypes found in many examples of literature: the Earth Mother, the Greater Mother, the Lesser Mother and the Old Crone. The author relates that these roles also resemble some of the major Greek mythological women, such as the Goddesses Gaia, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Athena and Persephone. The paper concludes that being able to categorize these women into these four literary archetypes provides the reader with greater insight into the author's use of symbolism associated with the Canadian prairies.
From the Paper "Ellen had her father take away her minimal femininity and social life by embedding her with farming skills and putting her to work on the farm. Given these challenges, Ellen became a Lesser Mother. The community saw Ellen as a farmer, not as someone embracing herself as a young woman. These faults in her character as a woman make Ellen a Lesser Mother in literature archetypes. With these qualities Ellen mirrored the goddess Demeter; Demeter was the goddess of harvest. Ellen lives for planting and harvesting her farm, putting her pride into her claim this was all Ellen knew just as Demeter does."
Abstract This paper compares the Goddess Medea to the tri-figured Mother/Goddess. The virgin, mother, and icon images of the Mother Goddess all relate to Medea in different ways throughout the play. The paper includes in-text citations with bibliography.
From the Paper "The Mother/Goddess is a manifestation of the overwhelming feminine attributes of the world in the first religions. The religions portray the power of the Mother/ Goddess to be both the creator and the destroyer of life. She also represents time, the creator of fate and provider of all destinies. The Mother/ Goddess is all knowing and spiritually represents wholeness and one complete cycle. The Mother/ Goddess represents the irrational aspects of life and nature with intuitive wisdom. Medea exemplifies all of these points as she learns of Jason's deception. She then shows each aspect of the Mother/ Goddess as she sets her plan to murder the princess, the king and her children to destroy the life Jason has made for himself with his new bride.
