Hero’s Daughter

Athena sprang full-grown from the head of Zeus, her father, who had swallowed Metis, her mother, for fear she would bear a child equal to him in courage. Following her dramatic birth, Athena associated herself only with Zeus . . .Though less mythic in stature, this is what happens to a father’s daughter: the mother is metaphorically swallowed by the father as he steals the daughter for himself. Indeed, for many women the most important relationship in their lives has been with their fathers. Often the favored members of the household, these daughters reject their natural feminine side in order to gain their fathers’ approval, assurance, protection, and love. But the price they pay for this alliance is costly: by identifying solely with the masculine, the women remain arrested in daughterhood.In this unique and fascinating look at a pervasive, though unexplored, issue, Jungian therapist Maureen Murdock at last reveals the unspoken truth about daughters and the immense power the fathers they idealize have over them. As Murdock demonstrates, these exclusive relationships can be more harmful than supportive — the emotional enmeshment is so complete that the relationship is difficult to untangle. Every aspect of a woman’s life is affected — from fearing commitment to recklessly choosing a mate, among a host of many other professional and personal problems.Yet separating from a father means sacrificing the privileges of a favored daughter, a position most women wish to maintain. With revealing case studies, and through explorations of hidden truth in myths, dreams, and fairy tales, The Hero’s Daughter makes clear that the rewards for this separation are great — as a woman will learn to take herself seriously, reclaim the authority she projects onto men, and establish a healthy, balanced sense of herself as a woman.