Eve's Daughters: The Forbidden Heroism of Women - Paperback

by Miriam F. Polster (Author)

Back Jacket

Heroic acts of women throughout history have been ignored, misinterpreted, and maligned. For example, Miriam Polster contrasts the condemnation of Eve with the admiration for Prometheus, although each defied the gods and gave humanity knowledge. Polster reveals that our understanding of heroism in society is entrenched in archaic male archetypes that are potentially destructive and often irrelevant to our daily lives. Offering a positive approach to the psychology of women, Polster explains why we must celebrate the heroism of women, from Eve to the champions of everyday life - the single mother in night school, the female scientist in a male-dominated field, the victim of harassment demanding justice. Drawing on case examples from her private practice as well as mythology, biblical commentary, and anthropology, she shows how a different, unheralded kind of heroism - the heroism of women - is more attuned to the real social and psychological needs of women, men, and children today. Polster shows how women and men, in confronting their own daily struggles, need not be limited to stereotypical male heroism, but can rely on their innate and unique strengths and qualities - as women heroes have done for centuries - to embody true heroism, achieve goals, and realize self-fulfillment.

Author Biography

Miriam Polster earned her PhD is clinical psychology in 1967 and was trained by the pioneers in Gestalt therapy, whose approach is to enable the client to become more fully and creatively alive, and free from the blocks and unfinished issues which may diminish optimum satisfaction, fulfillment, and growth. Growth occurs through gradual assimilation of experience in a natural way, rather than by accepting the interpretations of the analyst; thus, the therapist should not interpret, but lead the client to discover for him or herself. Miriam was an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She also co-founded and co-directed the Gestalt Training Center in San Diego with her husband, Erving. Their individual and joint service to psychotherapy was honored at an international gathering of their peers and Miriam Polster was awarded congressional recognition for her outstanding and invaluable contribution to her field.