those that combine a group experience with a solo heroic journey.
When women go on Outward Bound trips or on vision quests for
women, they cultivate the Artemis archetype. Similarly, when our
daughters compete in sports, go to all-girl camps, travel to explore
new places, live in foreign cultures as exchange students, or join the
Peace Corps, they gain experiences that can develop the self-sufficient
Artemis.
ARTEMIS THE WOMAN
Artemis qualities appear early. Usually an Artemis baby is the
one who looks absorbingly at new objects, who is active rather than
passive. People often comment on this capacity to concentrate on a
self-selected task: “She has an amazing power of concentration for
a two-year-old,” or “She’s one stubborn kid,” or “Be careful what
you promise her, she’s got a mind like an elephant; she won’t for-
get—she’ll hold you to it.” The Artemis penchant for exploring new
territory usually begins when she manages to get up and over the
crib railing, out of the playpen, and into the bigger world.
Artemis has a tendency to feel strongly about her causes and
principles. She may have come to the defense of someone smaller
or may fervently assert “That’s not fair!” before embarking on some
campaign to right a wrong. Artemis girls brought up in households
that favor sons—giving the boys more privileges or expecting them
to do fewer household chores—do not meekly accept this inequity
as a “given.” The budding feminist is often first glimpsed as the little
sister demanding equality.
PARENTS
An Artemis woman who securely pursues her own course, all the
while feeling good about who she is as a person, and glad that she
is a female, often has had the equivalent of a loving Leto and an
approving Zeus to help her “actualize” her Artemis potential. For
an Artemis woman to compete and achieve with success and without
conflict, paternal approval is highly important.
Many supportive fathers are like Zeus, in providing the
Goddesses in Everywoman