The archetypal role of women in A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong, “Creation”, and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse illustrates the nurturing, stay-at-home role of women. In Myth, Armstrong clearly paints the picture for us: women were the attentive figures in these early civilizations. Because of their maternal role, she explains, the earth later was seen as female. The same theme plays out in the Mohawk myth “Creation”: we see the universe created by a holy female being and she is treated with such love, as she is the mother of the earth and creator of life. In Siddhartha, our female character’s role is also a maternal one, as well as a teacher. The portrayal of women as mothers, creators of life, and homebodies is consistent in all three
…show more content…
This is a perfect example of what Karen Armstrong explained in A Short History of Myth. In this creation myth, Rawennio the Great Ruler calls upon his daughter who “was to be the mother of Good and Evil Spirits” and drops her into the lower world, which is unchartered land - now hers to rule and create. There are animals living in this world, all who begin to serve her immediately. One by one they sacrifice themselves in attempts to find a dry place for her to rest on. This woman becomes the “Sky Woman” and she gives birth to the Good Spirit and the Evil Spirit, the first two human like creatures who go on to populate the land. This story contains the archetypal woman we are discussing: this creator of life, a holy maternal figure. The animals immediately sacrificed themselves for her, without even truly knowing what was going on. She gave birth to Good and Evil, who went on to create forests and new animals and mankind. She is the mother of all things, yet she is not feared or militarized in a way that a male god might be. When we look back at mythology, creation stories in particular, we are often met with this woman archetype. A good way to figure out if this is a solid archetype is by asking the question: Do we see this in literature
This is a perfect example of what Karen Armstrong explained in A Short History of Myth. In this creation myth, Rawennio the Great Ruler calls upon his daughter who “was to be the mother of Good and Evil Spirits” and drops her into the lower world, which is unchartered land - now hers to rule and create. There are animals living in this world, all who begin to serve her immediately. One by one they sacrifice themselves in attempts to find a dry place for her to rest on. This woman becomes the “Sky Woman” and she gives birth to the Good Spirit and the Evil Spirit, the first two human like creatures who go on to populate the land. This story contains the archetypal woman we are discussing: this creator of life, a holy maternal figure. The animals immediately sacrificed themselves for her, without even truly knowing what was going on. She gave birth to Good and Evil, who went on to create forests and new animals and mankind. She is the mother of all things, yet she is not feared or militarized in a way that a male god might be. When we look back at mythology, creation stories in particular, we are often met with this woman archetype. A good way to figure out if this is a solid archetype is by asking the question: Do we see this in literature