tion of a “special woman” in the transition phase of a young man’s
entry into the adult world. Levinson claims that such a woman has
a special connection to the realization of his Dream. She helps him
to shape and live out the Dream. She shares it, believes in him as its
hero, gives it her blessing, joins him on the journey, and provides a
sanctuary where his aspirations can be imagined and his hopes
nourished.^2
This special woman is similar to Toni Wolf’s description of the
“hetaira woman”^3 (from the ancient Greek word for courtesan, who
was educated, cultured, and unusually free for a woman of those
days; she was like a Japanese geisha in some respects)—a type of
woman whose relationships with men have both erotic and compan-
ionship qualities. She may be his la femme inspiratrice or muse. Ac-
cording to Wolf, the hetaira fertilizes the creative side of a man and
helps him in it. Toni Wolf, a Jungian analyst and former patient of
Jung’s, was his colleague and, according to some people, also his
mistress. She herself may have been Jung’s “special woman,” a het-
aira woman who inspired Jungian theory.
Sometimes a woman has a gift for attracting several or many men
to her who see her as the special woman; she has the ability to see
their potential, believe in their dreams, and inspire them to achieve.
Lou Salome Andreas, for example, was the special woman, muse,
colleague, and erotic companion for a number of famous and creative
men including Rilke, Nietzsche, and Freud.^4
Women as well as men need to be able to imagine that their Dream
is possible, and have another person look at them and their dream
with growth-enhancing Aphrodite consciousness. People speculate
why there are so few famous women artists, or great chefs, or orches-
tra leaders, or noted philosophers—among the reasons given might
be that women lack carriers of the Dream. Women have nurtured
the Dream for men, while men in general haven’t nurtured the
Dream very well for the women in their lives.
This state of affairs is partially a result of stereotyped roles, which
have limited the imagination as well as stifled opportunities for
women. But tangible obstacles (“No woman need apply” difficulties)
are decreasing, as are the lack of role models.
Goddesses in Everywoman