The Maiden King: The Reunion of Masculine and Feminine - Hardcover

Bly, Robert; Woodman, Marion

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805057773 ISBN 13: 9780805057775

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1998

Synopsis

The author of Iron John, together with an eminent psychotherapist, reunite the Masculine and the Feminine. Robert Bly and Marion Woodman interpret the deep psychological insights imbedded in ancient stories, in this instance a Russian folktale about bringing feminine energy back into the world. The Maiden King tells of an absent father, a possessive stepmother, a false tutor, and a young man overwhelmed by a beautiful maiden and her thirty sisters, sailing toward him on thirty boats. His weak response ss her retreating in anger, and to find her once again he must go on a quest that leads to Baba Yaga, the fierce old woman of Russian folk tradition who represents not life in service of death, but death in service of life. The male tency to go to sleep in the face of feminine magnificence, female fear of power and of abandonment that leads to rage, the need to get beyond oppositional thinking en route to the Divine--these are issues the book addresses with wisdom and lyrical beauty. The true heir to Iron John, Bly's number-one national best-seller about men, The Maiden King speaks eloquently to readers of Clarissa Pinkola Estes, James Hillman, and Deborah Tannen.

About this title

Review:

Although he's a National Book Award-winning poet, revered not only for his poetry but for his masterful translations of and critical essays about such internationally celebrated poets as Goethe and Antonio Machado, Robert Bly is perhaps more widely recognized for spearheading the men's movement with his bestselling book Iron John. Marion Woodman is a Jungian analyst whose scholarly work on feminine consciousness has distinguished her as one of Canada's leading feminists. These two renowned intellectuals have joined forces to explore the struggle for power between the masculine and feminine, using the ancient Russian myth of the Maiden Tsar as their framework.

The story of the Maiden Tsar is richly complex, detailing a young man's encounters with a series of strong female characters--some mythical, some mortal--including a tutor who betrays him, the harsh but wise Baba Yaga, and the omnipotent and beautiful Maiden Tsar. In his commentary, Bly explores the representation of the masculine, drawing on psychological, spiritual, and mythological sources to inform his analysis; Woodman uses a Jungian lens through which she can probe the psyche of the feminine. Together they hope to find a place in which the two sexes can coexist, without undermining or compromising the powerful energy of the feminine.

A thoughtful, enlightening, and impassioned work, The Maiden King may very well turn out to be the highbrow Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. --Kera Bolonik

About the Author:

Robert Bly, winner of the National Book Award for poetry, is author of the number-one New York Times best-seller Iron John. He lives in Minneapolis. Marion Woodman, a practicing Jungian therapist, is the author of numerous books, including Addiction to Perfection and The Pregnant Virgin. She lives in London, Ontario.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0805057773
• ISBN 13: 9780805057775
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264