she appears on the surface, she is inwardly true to Hestia; she has
a quality of independence and detachment, an emotional evenness
that comes from being centered.
ADOLESCENCE AND EARLY ADULTHOOD
Teenager Hestia absents herself from the social dramas, high
passions, and shifting alliances of her peers. In this she resembles
the goddess Hestia, who took no part in the romantic intrigues or
the wars that occupied the other Olympians. As a result, she may
be a social isolate who stays on the periphery of activity, a nonparti-
cipant who appears to others to be self-sufficient and isolated by
choice. Or, if she has developed other facets of her personality, she
may have friends and be involved in school and social activities.
Her friends like her quiet warmth and steadiness, although they
sometimes are exasperated with her for not taking sides in a contro-
versy or wish she’d be more competitive.
Adolescence may be a time of deepening religious conviction for
Hestia. It may lead to her only direct conflict with her parents, if she
wants to follow a religious vocation. Although some Catholic families
are delighted when a daughter feels called to be a nun, many others
are appalled if she takes her faith this seriously. More recently,
Hestias have been attracted to various Eastern religions that have
flourished in the United States since the 1970s. When Hestia
daughters are drawn to ashrams, chant in foreign languages, and
take on new names, many parents react in alarm and mistakenly
assume that it will be easy to make their quiet, docile Hestia
daughters change their convictions. Instead, with the certainty and
focus of a virgin goddess, Hestia daughters usually do what matters
to them rather than comply with their parents’ wishes.
The Hestia woman who goes to college often appreciates the an-
onymity of a large university and the opportunity to have a place
of her own. A woman who is solely Hestia is unlikely to have a
personal reason to go to college, however, because intellectual
challenge, looking for a husband, or preparing for a profession are
not Hestian concerns. For these motivations, other goddesses need
to be present. Most Hestia women who attend college do so because
other archetypes are also important or because others expect them
to do so.
Goddesses in Everywoman