tion, or she discounts them—as merely women without men. After
marriage, she does almost all socializing as part of a couple. When
a married Hera woman does things with other women, the activity
characteristically is related to her husband’s profession or his activ-
ities. Women’s auxiliaries institutionalize this tendency. In such or-
ganizations, the husband’s position usually determines his wife’s
elective position. In voting for officers of such an organization, Hera
women inevitably consider the status of a woman’s husband.
For a Hera woman, when contact with other women is made in
the context of couples, the bond between the women is often more
like a friendly alliance than a personal friendship. Therefore, a Hera
woman easily drops the divorced or widowed “friend,” often after
years of frequent socialization, when the friend no longer is coupled.
Hera women drop each other, reinforcing their inner conviction that
a woman is nothing without a husband. Many bitter widows have
moved to sunnier climates—not for the weather, but out of anger
and pride on finding that there no longer was a place for them in
their circle of formerly close friends.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEN:
EXPECTATIONS OF FULFILLMENT
When the goddess Hera was worshipped in Greek temples and
the marriage of Zeus and Hera was ritually enacted, Zeus was called
Zeus Teleios, meaning “Zeus, Bringer to Fulfillment.” A contemporary
Hera woman places on a husband the archetypal expectation that
he will fulfill her.
A Hera woman is attracted to a competent, successful man—a
definition that usually depends on her social class and family.
Starving artists, sensitive poets, and genius scholars are not for her.
Hera women are not intrigued by men who suffer for their art or
political principles.
Sometimes, however, Hera women do seem particularly suscept-
ible to the combination that won Hera herself. Zeus first got close
to Hera by changing himself into a shivering bird before revealing
himself as chief god. All too often a Hera woman marries this com-
bination of poor little creature in need of warmth (which she
provides) and big powerful
Goddesses in Everywoman