generations of children, as well as receptive adults, to the wonders
of nature.
A second spritely, aged Artemis is Frances Horn, whose explora-
tions led her into human nature. At seventy, she received her doc-
torate in psychology; at seventy-five, she published I Want One
Thing,
5
an autobiographical book that charts her explorations and
notes what she found that was of lasting value.
Georgia O’Keeffe, the best-known American woman artist, contin-
ued to exemplify Artemis when she was in her nineties, as she had
done all her life. She had a passion and a spiritual affinity for the
untamed Southwest, combined with an intensity of purpose through
which she reached her life goals. O’Keeffe is quoted as saying, “I’ve
always known what I’ve wanted—and most people don’t.”^6 She
mused that her success may have been due to a streak of aggression,
which led to her having “taken hold of anything that came along
that I wanted.” Artemis-like O’Keeffe clearly took unerring aim and
achieved what she sought.
In 1979, O’Keeffe at ninety-two was the only living woman to be
included in artist Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party,” a tribute in
place settings of porcelain and embroidery to thirty-nine important
women in history. O’Keeffe’s plate rose off the table higher than any
other plate—symbolizing, in Chicago’s view, O’Keeffe’s “almost
successful aspiration to be entirely her own woman.”^7
PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES
Artemis the goddess roamed through her chosen terrain with
company of her own chosing, doing what pleased her. Unlike god-
desses who were victimized, Artemis never suffered. However, she
did harm others who offended her, or threatened those under her
protection. Similarly, the psychological difficulties that characterist-
ically are associated with Artemis women usually cause others to
suffer, rather than bringing pain on themselves.
IDENTIFYING WITH ARTEMIS
To live “as Artemis” in pursuit of a goal or focused on work may
be quite satisfactory for an Artemis woman, who
Goddesses in Everywoman