Reclaiming Myths Of Power Reclaiming Myths Of Power

"This book re-examines the Victorian spiritual crisis from the perspective of the period's women writers, exploring the spiritual dimension in their lives and narratives. The introduction considers the relationship between sacred and secular canons and the limited access women have had to both. In the following chapters, case studies of the lives and selected texts of Florence Nightingale, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between female spiritual crises and diverse narrative strategies that reappropriate the conservative power associated with religious symbolism for a radical revisioning of women's social subjection." "By analyzing the neglected spiritual crises these women experienced, their discourse, and that produced by other Victorian women, this study reveals a more complex, problematic, and polemical dialogue during the period than has previously been argued."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This work reexamines the Victorian spiritual crisis from the perspective of the period's women writers, exploring the spiritual dimension in their writings. Case studies of the lives and writings of Florence Nightingale, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between these crises and narrative strategies that reappropriate the conservative power associated with religious symbolism.

Healing Myths, Healing Magic examines the deeply ingrained stories, or myths, we commonly hold about how our bodies heal ¿ myths that can actually inhibit healing. In this breakthrough book, Epstein divides the healing myths into four categories: social, biomedical, religious, and new age. He exposes each myth individually, then suggests an alternative, or Healing Magic, to help us reclaim our body¿s natural ability to heal.

A dark relationship evolves between a high schooler and her English teacher in this breathtakingly powerful memoir about a young woman who must learn to rewrite her own story. “Have you ever read Lolita?” So begins seventeen-year-old Alisson’s metamorphosis from student to lover and then victim. A lonely and vulnerable high school senior, Alisson finds solace only in her writing—and in a young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. North. Mr. North gives Alisson a copy of Lolita to read, telling her it is a beautiful story about love. The book soon becomes the backdrop to a connection that blooms from a simple crush into a forbidden romance. But as Mr. North’s hold on her tightens, Alisson is forced to evaluate how much of their narrative is actually a disturbing fiction. In the wake of what becomes a deeply abusive relationship, Alisson is faced again and again with the story of her past, from rereading Lolita in college to working with teenage girls to becoming a professor of creative writing. It is only with that distance and perspective that she understands the ultimate power language has had on her—and how to harness that power to tell her own true story. Being Lolita is a stunning coming-of-age memoir that shines a bright light on our shifting perceptions of consent, vulnerability, and power. This is the story of what happens when a young woman realizes her entire narrative must be rewritten—and then takes back the pen to rewrite it.

The author calls for a revolution in health care, criticizing its hostility to alternative medicine and its bias against women.

Recovering the Black Female Body recognizes the pressing need to highlight through scholarship the vibrant energy of African American women's attempts to wrest control of the physical and symbolic construction of their bodies away from the distortions of others.

In an effort to bring witchcraft back to its roots, Monte Plaisance presents a straightforward look into the world of the witch. Plaisance tackles one of the most often misinterpreted aspects of witchcraft: the elements of magic. This is not a book of magical recipes or spells, but rather a serious look at what goes into making magic work: will and intent. Writing from years of experience, he demystifies the growing religion of Wicca and dispels popular myths created by TV and movies. This book offers a sweeping survey of the sources and influences of witchcraft from many cultures, showing that much of modern magick has its roots in Greek and Roman Mythology. Including chapters on divination, ritual, dreams and dreamwork, practical magical tools, and more, this book invites each reader to reclaim the power of the witch.

The Feminine Reclaimed breaks new ground in the field of Renaissance scholarship. Stevie Davies considers the feminine principle as it was developed through the humanist and Neoplatonic revival of ancient classical learning and from this perspective approaches the major works of the three great literary figures of the English Renaissance -- Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton. Through close, perceptive readings of their most crucial works, informed by a familiarity with the whole range of their context in the European literature and thought of their time, Stevie Davies is able to demonstrate the great importance of the feminine principle in the consciousness of these writers and their age, a time of political, religious, and social upheaval in which perceptions of woman and her status in society underwent momentous changes. She analyzes guiding symbols, mythical allusions, and literary structures in major works by the three poets to show that this rediscovered image of the feminine was incorporated into The Faerie Queene, Shakespeare's last plays, and Paradise Lost in such a manner as to create an alternative system of values which either redefined or criticized the patriarchal structures of the contemporary world.