IN THE UNDERWORLD: PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS
During part of her myth, as captive in the underworld, Persephone
was a sad maiden who did not eat and did not smile. This phase is
analogous to a period of psychological illness through which some
Persephone women must go.
A Persephone woman is susceptible to depression when she is
dominated and limited by people who keep her bound to them. An
unassertive person, she bottles up her anger or differences rather
than express them or actively change the situation. Instead, she holds
in her negative feelings, and becomes depressed (anger turned in-
ward—which is repression—becomes depression). Feelings of isola-
tion, inadequacy, and self-criticism further contribute to her depres-
sion.
When a Persephone woman becomes depressed, it’s an undramat-
ic, fade-into-the-woodwork depression. Her retiring personality re-
cedes even further, her passivity becomes even greater, and her
emotions are inaccessible. She seems wispy and insubstantial. Like
Persephone when she was first abducted to the underworld, she
doesn’t eat, and she doesn’t have anything to say. Physically as well
as psychologically, the insubstantiality becomes more marked over
time. Watching a depressed Persephone is like watching a flower
fade.
In contrast, a depressed Demeter woman looms large and has a
big effect on everyone around her. Before she became depressed,
she may have been an energetic, central figure, so there is a dramatic
change in her behavior when she gets depressed—while a
Persephone woman was unassuming to begin with, and merely
fades away more when she’s depressed.
Moreover, a depressed Demeter makes everyone around her feel
guilty, powerless, or angry at the blame she implies. A depressed
Persephone, in contrast, doesn’t stir up these feelings in others. In-
stead, they feel cut off from her. She is the one who feels guilty,
blameworthy, and powerless. And often she feels inappropriately
guilty for something she said, thought, or did. Consequently, a de-
pressed Demeter is an enormous presence in the center of the
household, while a depressed Persephone seems to disappear into
the back rooms.
Some Persephones withdraw into a shadowy world of in-
Goddesses in Everywoman