The nature and expression of feminine consciousness through psychology and literature
pp. 379-393
in: Rolf von Eckartsberg (ed), Metaphors of consciousness, Berlin, Springer, 1981Abstract
The masculine and the feminine, the Yin and the Yang, the creator and the destroyer, the active and the receptive—our language and the traditions of all cultures are filled with such opposite yet complementary principles. Consciousness also expresses itself in two complementary yet opposite manners which we shall call "masculine" and "feminine." Our Western culture centers upon the masculine component of consciousness and gives credence and respect primarily to expressions of this masculine consciousness; yet, for consciousness to be full and complete, the feminine side must also be acknowledged and developed. In this chapter we shall explore the nature of the feminine side of consciousness as the essential complement and completion of masculine consciousness. We shall draw from the perspectives both of psychology and of literature; psychology gives a logical, rational (masculine) conceptualization of feminine consciousness whereas literature provides living examples of the expression of the feminine side.