Ensoulment

This book is the result of the author’s search for the “feminine principle.” The author interviewed people from diverse areas of life, both men and women, on their understanding of “the feminine.” The interviewees are teachers, writers, clergy, activists, and directors of organizations in such areas as social justice and psychology. All interviewees have different understandings of “the feminine.” This book is the written result of those videotaped interviews, one chapter devoted to each interviewee, with representative photographs or drawings.

One of the most remarkable things about this book is the enthusiasm the author put into the project. She began exploring the feminine principle while still completing her undergraduate degree. She has since won recognition for the film that was the initial result of the project. The work reads something like a dissertation, in its focus on an academic topic, gathering of data from subjects, and including research on issues such as Jungian theory. Although the interviewees are from diverse walks of life, some common themes emerge on the topic of “the feminine” and its role in Western Culture and how it has been diminished. Some topics are feminism and the oppression of women; distinctions between the “feminine” and the “masculine” and Jungian archetypes. The similarity, and in some places, repetitiveness, of themes may be due to standard questions used to begin a dialogue. Some of the analysis descends into the obvious, such as the feminine being connected to females and the masculine to males. This is just on the surface, however. The author’s further exploration reveals that the “feminine” and “masculine” are not so much about gender, but something deeper, a set of qualities like “yin” and “yang” in Eastern philosophy. “Yin” comprises the more “feminine” and intuitive and yang the more rational and “masculine.” These qualities overlap and can relate to either gender. Because such a diverse group of subjects was interviewed, original themes do emerge, such as physical symptoms being connected to metaphysical hurts. Overall, “ensoulment,” the realization of one’s true soul, is a perfect title for the work—how we reconnect to the feminine principle.