And once the unpleasant task was done, she felt a sense of relief.
Whether or not she instigates the divorce, the Athena woman
copes competently with the situation. Settlements are usually nego-
tiated without rancor or bitterness. She doesn’t feel personally dev-
astated even if he is leaving her for someone else. She may remain
on good terms with an ex-husband and may even continue with a
business partnership.
The dual-career marriage, where both husband and wife are seri-
ously involved in careers, is a relatively new phenomenon. Athena
women may be more successful than most at this type of marriage.
It takes the mind of Athena to plan and carry out the logistics of
having two working partners with long-term goals, and with
schedules that may not conform to a standard 9-to-5 workday, while
maintaining the accoutrements and social presence of upwardly
mobile or professional-class people. Athena women tend to be more
conservative about traditional roles, and are less likely to make
egalitarian demands for the sake of principle. Therefore, the Athena
woman in a dual-career marriage usually oversees the household,
hires efficient help, and gives the impression of being a superwoman
as she takes care of her own career and their home, and serves as
her husband’s ally and valued confidante.
CHILDREN
As a mother, the Athena woman can hardly wait for her kids to
grow up to the age when she can talk to them, do projects with them,
and take them to see what there is to see. She is the opposite of a
Demeter “Earth Mother,” who instinctively seeks to be a mother,
loves to hold babies, and wishes they would never grow up. An
Athena woman, in contrast, would just as soon “rent a womb”
whenever that option becomes possible, as long as she could be sure
of the parentage of the baby. And she uses surrogate mothers, hiring
housekeepers and nannies to care for her children.
The Athena mother shines if she has competitive, extraverted, in-
tellectually curious sons. They are her budding heroes in the making,
who draw on her ability to teach, ad-
Goddesses in Everywoman