(no subject)
I'm reading an article from ReVision about "female demons and the demonic female" - the dualistic projection of all things dark and evil onto women. It's sloppy, but it makes one point I found fascinating.
First, the sloppy stuff. The landmark book Inanna: Queen and Heaven of Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer includes a translation of an episode from a longer epic, Gilgameš, Enkidu and the nether world, which W&K have titled Inanna and the Huluppu-Tree.
The article's author, Elinor Gaden, posits that the split between good and bad woman, virgin and whore, has already begun with this very ancient story. The "dark maid Lilith" makes her home in a tree that Inanna hopes to use for furniture, and Gilgamesh has to drive her off. Gaden says Gilgamesh smashes Lilith's home; but the text clearly states that Lilith destroys her own home and flees the threat, just as the Anzu-bird flies away. Gaden doesn't mention the other creatures also infesting the tree, a snake and a bird - surprising, since according to Marija Gumbutas, these are symbols of the controversial original Mother Goddess, and Gaden could've used them to bolster her argument.
But the real trick the author has missed is the obvious one: the complex nature of Inanna herself, who's so much more than a damsel in distress. If earlier religion should be less dualistic than later religion, then the complicated mix of love and violence in Inanna's character is surely a clue to the change. Gaden argues, rightly, that the modern Goddess movement has neglected the "dark" side of the Goddess; I think that she's missed a terrific chance to show an alternative.
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Gadon, Elinor W. Revisioning the Female Demon. ReVision 20.3 (Winter 1998): 30(1).
Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Harper and Row, New York, 1983.
First, the sloppy stuff. The landmark book Inanna: Queen and Heaven of Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer includes a translation of an episode from a longer epic, Gilgameš, Enkidu and the nether world, which W&K have titled Inanna and the Huluppu-Tree.
The article's author, Elinor Gaden, posits that the split between good and bad woman, virgin and whore, has already begun with this very ancient story. The "dark maid Lilith" makes her home in a tree that Inanna hopes to use for furniture, and Gilgamesh has to drive her off. Gaden says Gilgamesh smashes Lilith's home; but the text clearly states that Lilith destroys her own home and flees the threat, just as the Anzu-bird flies away. Gaden doesn't mention the other creatures also infesting the tree, a snake and a bird - surprising, since according to Marija Gumbutas, these are symbols of the controversial original Mother Goddess, and Gaden could've used them to bolster her argument.
But the real trick the author has missed is the obvious one: the complex nature of Inanna herself, who's so much more than a damsel in distress. If earlier religion should be less dualistic than later religion, then the complicated mix of love and violence in Inanna's character is surely a clue to the change. Gaden argues, rightly, that the modern Goddess movement has neglected the "dark" side of the Goddess; I think that she's missed a terrific chance to show an alternative.
__
Gadon, Elinor W. Revisioning the Female Demon. ReVision 20.3 (Winter 1998): 30(1).
Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Harper and Row, New York, 1983.