Camille Paglia and The Great Mother

In an article for Arion, feminist author Camille Paglia sings the praises of Jung prodigy Erich Neumann as the way foward to incorporating Jungian ideas into academic feminism. Paglia discusses Neumann’s theory of feminine development, his best-known work “The Great Mother”, and discusses how “Goddess feminism” went wrong when it embraced the literal idea of a prehistoric matriarchy.

“The ancient Great Mother was a dangerously dual figure, both benevolent and terrifying, like the Hindu goddess Kali. Neumann saw this clearly, but Campbell and the goddess’ feminist boosters did not: they sanitized and simplified, stripping away the goddess’ troublesome residue of the archaic and barbaric. Neumann cited and praised Bachofen’s pioneering work in prehistory but was careful to note that the latter’s idea of matriarchy (as Neumann puts it in The Great Mother) must be “understood psychologically rather than sociologically.” While quoting Bachofen in The Origins and History of Consciousness, Neumann insists that the matriarchal stage “refers to a structural layer and not to any historical epoch.” Such fine distinctions are precisely why I admire Neumann?because he scrupulously tempers speculation with evidence. This vexed issue of matriarchy, which remains one of the most dubious strains in feminism, is of special importance to me because it provoked some of my earliest public clashes with fellow feminists when I began teaching in the early 1970s.”

Paglia contends that all theories of culture must begin with pre-history and work forward, something she feels Jungian-based theory is specially adapted to do. To Paglia, social constructionism of poststructuralism lack an understanding of nature and biology. The essay calls for a return to a Jungian feminist thought that steers clear from Campbell and Gimbutas and instead re-orients towards the work of Erich Neumann.

Tags: Paganism