on having nonintrusive mothers who love them and admire their
independent spirit, which is so different from their own. A
Persephone mother may also nurture her children’s imagination
and capacity to play by sharing these aspects of herself with them.
If she herself has grown beyond Persephone the Kore, she can guide
them toward valuing the inner life as a source of creativity.
MIDDLE YEARS
Although the archetype of Persephone the Kore remains eternally
young, the woman herself grows older. As she loses her youthful
bloom, she may become distressed by every facial wrinkle and line.
Realistic barriers now arise that make her aware that dreams she
once entertained as possibilities are now beyond reach. A midlife
depression results when these realities become obvious to her.
If she stays identified with “the Maiden” she may work at denying
reality. She may have a facelift as she concentrates on trying to
maintain an illusion of youthfulness. Her hairstyle and clothes may
be more suitable for a woman many years her junior; she may act
helpless and try to be cute. And with each passing year her behavior
will be less appropriate. For such a woman, depression is never far
from the surface.
If she is no longer identified with Persephone the Kore at mid-
life—because she made commitments or had experiences that
changed her—she will be spared a depression. Otherwise, a depres-
sion will be the turning point in her life; a turning point that may
have positive or negative consequences. This may mark the begin-
ning of a lasting depression, after which she remains defeated by
life. Or the depression will mark the end of a prolonged adolescence
and the beginning of maturity.
LATER YEARS
If in the course of her life a Persephone woman has evolved from
Kore to Queen, at sixty-five years of age and older she may have the
regal presence of a wise elder who knows the mysteries that make
life and death meaningful. She has had mystical or psychic experi-
ences and has tapped a
Goddesses in Everywoman