Introduction
There Are
Goddesses in Everywoman
Everywoman has the leading role in her own unfolding life story.
As a psychiatrist, I have heard hundreds of personal stories, and I
realize that there are mythic dimensions in every one. Some women
come to see a psychiatrist when they are demoralized or not func-
tioning, others when they wisely perceive that they are caught in a
situation they need to understand and change. In either case, it seems
to me that women seek the help of a therapist in order to learn how
to be better protagonists or heroines in their own life stories. To do
so, women need to make conscious choices that will shape their
lives. Just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects
that cultural stereotypes had on them, they may also be unconscious
of powerful forces within them that influence what they do and how
they feel. These forces I am introducing in this book in the guise of
Greek goddesses.
These powerful inner patterns—or archetypes—are responsible
for major differences among women. For example, some women
need monogamy, marriage, or children to feel fulfilled, and they
grieve and rage when the goal is beyond their reach. For them, tra-
ditional roles are personally meaningful. Such women differ
markedly from another type of woman who most values her inde-
pendence as she focuses on achieving goals that are important to
her, or from still another type who seeks emotional intensity and
new experiences and consequently moves from one relationship or
one creative effort to the next. Yet another type of woman seeks
solitude and