Mnemosyne: Remembering and recovering the self through identification with The Great Mother and her daughters, Athena, Artemis and Hestia PDF
Preview Mnemosyne: Remembering and recovering the self through identification with The Great Mother and her daughters, Athena, Artemis and Hestia
MNEMOSYNE: REMEMBERING AND RECOVERING THE SELF THROUGH IDENTIFICATION WITH THE GREAT MOTHER AND HER DAUGHTERS, ATHENA, ARTEMIS AND HESTIA A dissertation submitted to the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Drew University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Literature Cynthia Laudadio Drew University Madison, New Jersey May 2009 UMI Number: 3364849 Copyright 2009 by Laudadio, Cynthia INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMf UMI Microform 3364849 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright © by Cynthia Laudadio All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Mnemosyne: Remembering and Recovering the Self Through Identification with the Great Mother and Her Daughters, Athena, Artemis and Hestia D.Litt. Dissertation by Cynthia Laudadio The Caspersen School of graduate Studies Drew University May 2009 Carl Jung believed humans never forget their experiences, though they might not remain in human consciousness. This dissertation reflects on the importance of remembering our mythic origins as they represent the purity and wholeness individuals once possessed before being fragmented by life experiences. This sense of completeness is embodied in The Great Mother who, according to Greek mythology, created the universe by singlehandedly bringing forth life from her womb. After her male offspring usurped her power by literally splitting her in two, her descendants came to represent her fragmented powers of creation and destruction. Three of these deities, the virgin goddesses Athena, Artemis, and Hestia, also symbolize the Great Mother's purity as they seek companionship without allowing others' desires or demands to deter them from their true intentions which ultimately benefit humankind. This dissertation argues that embracing their pure creative energy, in particular the Great Mother's power of regenerative destruction, can facilitate a woman's search for wholeness. Supporting the assertion that integrating the virgin goddesses can reestablish the fullness inherent in the Great Mother, this dissertation employs Jung's assertion that humans are born psychologically and spiritually complete but become fragmented by life's challenges. A discussion of Jung's basic archetypes: the anima and the animus; the shadow; the persona; and the self, delineates the attributes inherent in the virgin goddesses who descended from the Great Mother. Analysis of myths which suggest the benefits of a balanced identification with Athena, Artemis, and Hestia pairs with caution regarding over-identification with any one aspect of the goddesses. The study concludes with the presentation of a family comprised of three generations of women who reveal evidence of balancing their lives in harmony with the archetypal attributes of Athena, Artemis, and Hestia. Their success in managing life's challenges, without sacrificing their spiritual wholeness, illustrates the power of integrating the virgin goddesses as a distillation of the Great Mother. No one has lifted my dress and seen, that is, mastered, my nakedness. I am the mother without a husband, the primal mother, all are my children. He who presumes to lift my dress desecrates the mother. Heinrich Zimmer, The Indian World Mother TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Yearning to be Whole Again 1 We Are Always Becoming 3 The Universal Search for Meaning 4 Chapter 1. JUNG'S COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS 8 The Archetypes of Personality 14 The Anima and the Animus 14 The Shadow 17 The Persona 23 The Self 25 Integrating the Archetypes of Personality 26 The Mnemonic Call of the Archetypes 28 2. THE GREAT MOTHER 35 The Divine Feminine's Creative and Sustaining Nature 35 Primordial Woman 40 Matriarchal Potency and Influence 42 The Great Mother in the Psyche 45 Kore, Mother, Crone 51 The Kore and the Mother 52 Hecate: The Bridge Between Maiden and Crone 60 The Crone 63 The Dark Goddess 68 Metaphorical Womb 79 Attachment Theory 88 3. ATHENA 98 Athena's Power Paradox 98 Ancient Athena 104 Society's Foundation 106 VI Athena as Mentor 108 Purity of Purpose 112 Self-Fulfillment 118 A Question of Balance 121 Toward Integration 129 4. ARTEMIS 130 Nurturing Creative Chaos 130 Fruitful Solitude 132 A Force in Nature 133 The Daughter-Mother 137 Maiden Lost and Found 139 The Consequences of Refusing Transcendence 140 Life, Death and Renewal 144 A Question of Balance 150 Toward Integration 155 5. HESTIA 158 Hestia: Alpha and Omega 158 Subtle Potency 161 Freedom in Formlessness 165 Oikos 168 Into the Fire 172 Journey to the Self 176 6. A LIVING VIRGIN TRIAD 183 Our Inner Voice 186 The Willson-Lowther Family 186 Vicky Willson 190 KateWillson 195 Vivian Lowther 200 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 205 BIBLIOGRAPHY 207 vii INTRODUCTION Yearning to be Whole Again The process of writing this dissertation has been a homecoming. At the start of this adventure, I believed I would learn a great deal about the inseparability of mythology and Jungian psychology, as well as how they inform my beliefs about myself and the world. However, I was unaware that I was searching for understanding that I have possessed all along and that the greatest lesson I would learn is how to remember myself. Mnemosyne, pronounced m-mos's-ne, is the goddess of memory, as in remembrance or mindfulness, and she lends her name to the science of mnemonics, which supports the use of tools to develop memory. She is primarily known as the mother of the nine Muses, whose inspiration for the arts, humanities and sciences forms the foundation for personal and cultural development, but it is also Mnemosyne's role to inspire us to rediscover our true purpose-—which so often becomes lost when life's struggles force our focus outward rather than inward. Mnemosyne reminds us that at one time we were sure of ourselves and our place in the world and encourages us to release flawed expectations, often engendered by disappointments, so we might evoke memories of the lives we were designed to live unencumbered by external influences. 1 2 When I entered Drew's Doctor of Letters program, I had already begun to shed my old expectations by abandoning a 15 year corporate career in education. Following an academic path was an act of faith because I sensed it was right, despite having little evidence that I would be comfortable in a classroom. Yet my intuition was correct, as the joys of teaching have far exceeded my expectations. Earning my doctorate was another leap into the unknown, as well as evidence of a return to my fascination with academic pursuits that had ended with my first administrative position in 1980. Nearly 20 years later, at the Drew orientation, I felt a gentle nudge that told me not only was I in the right place, but that I had come home. I now see this feeling as evidence of Mnemosyne helping me to remember myself. My classes triggered more memories of what I had forgotten over the years, particularly my sensitivity, curiosity and creativity. Moreover, researching and writing this dissertation has served to illuminate the ways in which various aspects of my personality had been secreted away, and I learned that they could be restored and rearranged so that I would feel the archetypal wholeness with which Carl Jung asserts humans are born. Consistent with the pattern inherent in creating this dissertation, the more arduous process of integrating all aspects of my being would be via a gradual restoration of my memory.
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