(“The Warrior Women”) by Monique Wittig translated by David Le Vay (first reviewed April 2005) Wittig’s book, quite frankly, puzzles me — or perhaps it’s simply the hype which I find misplaced. I picked it up because I read it was, in 1969, one of the first appropriations of the Amazonian utopia legend by the…
Well, that was clumsy of me. Not only did I forget I had another posting scheduled, but of course, right after I get through chastising patronizing over-simplification of complex issues… I do it myself. How embarrassing. ;) A big thank-you to Velvetpage, whose critiques never fail to be both thought-provoking and courteous. With her permission,…
So in quick synopsis, as far as I can tell, people stick with harmful doctrines (such as religions which label you guilty simply on the basis of something completely out of your control, such as gender) because they truly believe the doctrine is correct, because they’re refusing to be pushed into something they’re not ready…
I have been asked why I put so much time and thought into my critique of WomanChrist. As one friend put it, at least the book suggests a more feminist christianity, so why do I not like it more? As I noted to the friend (in a very enjoyable and thoughtful discussion over lunch), I…
I emphatically do not understand this. How can a woman on the one hand lyrically proclaim not just the equality, but the apparent spiritual supremacy of women – and then in practically the very same breath, choose to kneel at the feet of a male deity that demands not just submission, but has a brutal…
Perhaps most dramatically for me: why does Weber wish to stay with a Church which effectively defiles her sacred nature, when she is so clearly aware of the beauty and joy of the Goddess?! Throughout the book Weber practically flirts with the Goddess’ myriad forms, dancing along the knife’s edge of admission and acknowledgment of…
Unfortunately, I ultimately found the four archetypes offered by Weber to be somewhat limiting, in that they all seemed to define a woman in terms of her availability to, or relationships with, men. That choice of imagery enshrines the male as the conceptual center of the universe, and I simply do not believe that is…
I found myself wondering, in fact, just how much abuse women were supposed to put up with. When was the pain supposed to stop? When the Church changed? I don’t see that happening any time soon, especially considering the Church’s current appalling clerical record. From ignoring and abetting pedophilia by priests, to treating the ordination…
Myths and victims Mythically speaking, this revelation holds true as well, at least in the stories I know of. The entire saga of the Old Norse The Nibelungenlied explores the destructive, generation-spanning violence perpetuated by the violent greed for cursed treasure. None of the people involved could think of confronting the continuing savagery with anything…
Myths and archetypes Weber clearly understands the power and beauty of myth and dream, which is a subject I too very much appreciate pondering: “The ‘beginning’ we sense in mythological language or in the language of dream is also the deepest reality of the present and the fullness of the end. It is the state…