From: bickis@skmath3.usask.ca ("M. Bickis")
Subject: The Warrior Within: Book review
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Organization: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Date: 12 Jan 93 22:37:34 GMT

Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.  The Warrior Within.  Accessing the
        knight in the male psyche.  William Morrow & Co. New York: 1992.

This is a "men's movement" book.  I take the liberty of posting this
review here only because it addresses a topic, viz. male
aggressiveness, which is of concern to feminists, and which has had
much discussion in this newsgroup.  (Viewpoints I myself have
expressed in previous posts are well expressed here.  However, these
views are confirmed rather than influenced by the book, since I only
read it a couple of weeks ago.)

The authors examine the question of male aggressiveness in the context
of Jungian analysis.  They consider that there are four archetypes:
King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover, buried deep in the primitive
brain.  (Although the book discusses the male psyche as being
different from the female one, it is significant that these archetypes
are also ascribed to the female brain, except that "Queen" replaces
"King".  In particular, there is also a female Warrior.)  The
aggressive instinct is associated with the Warrior.

Rather than denigrating the Warrior as a demon to be exorcised, he is
presented as a positive souce of energy to be used in the service of
the Ego.  Male aggressiveness becomes a problem if it is suppressed,
which leads to the development of a "Shadow Warrior".  This aspect of
personality can be manifest in either masochistic or sadistic guises.
In either case, the Shadow is destructive, dangerous to the self in
the masochistic state, and to others in the sadistic state.  The
solution lies in confronting the Shadow, and reintegrating the Warrior
into the mature masculine personality which uses its aggressive
instincts to the welfare of the self and society.

The authors see that Shadow Warriors are common among modern men, who
have difficulty in dealing with their masculinity.  Hence they either
suppress their aggressiveness and become wimps, or succumb to it and
become violent.  Part of the problem is ascribed to the fact that
modern men have abandoned their responsibility in initiating young men
into manhood.  Managing the Warrior is a demanding task that requires
training.  Initiation rituals had this function in more primitive
societies, but nothing has replaced them today.  Consequently, young
men literally don't know what to do with themselves.  We hear much
these days about the need for role models and mentors for young women.
The authors maintain that this is as much if not more of a problem for
young men.  Although young men are taught many things by older men,
they are not taught about themselves.

Although I found the book inspiring, it is not without its faults.
The authors' devotion to Jungian thought is a little excessive at
times, and it is quite clear that they believe their work is the
ultimate truth.  Sometimes the writing resembles a respectable but not
outstanding undergraduate essay.  Although there is an extensive
bibliography, citations to it are sometimes coy (e.g.,"see Index"),
and the references to support a point are often to popular rather than
definitive works.  Perhaps the authors are trying hard to make the
work accessible to a wide audience.

A few good quotations:

"...we see how a man receives his mature masculine might from the
hands of his Anima, his own inner feminine aspect.  Unless he can
accept his own tenderness, vulnerability, and sensitivity, he cannot
be trusted with empowerment, and he cannot really receive his sword.
... The inner feminine works with the male structures to actually
support and *enhance* a man's masculinity..."

"...there is a real lack of mentoring in American life.  Most men have
never been given the permission they need to be legitimately powerful.
Consequently they do not know how to use their power without being
abusive. Older men spend their time and their energy ... ignoring or
humiliating younger men when they should be mentoring them. ... Mature
men...have often abandoned the spiritual realm to women; the
masculinity they pass on is a "practical", hard-boiled version that
completely rejects a young man's emotional and spiritual needs."

"For Jung, the deepest Self was androgynous."

"The man possessed by the sadistic Shadow Warrior is compulsively
driven: He doesn't know when to stop because he feels no pain...  The
Shadow Warrior anesthetic also has a deleterious effect on a man's
relationship with his Anima, and consequently also on his real-world
relationships with women...The tenderness, caring, love, and respect
they demand and deserve are too much for him."

"Until a man becomes secure in his masculine identity, he will remain
a sadomasochist in his relationships with women.  If he is not secure
he feels that he is risking invasion by his Anima."

"The fully expressed feminine Warrior helps a woman consolidate an
independent Self by defining and defending legitimate psychological
boundaries. ... But the feminine Warrior is not in any sense
antimale."

"A Warrior needs an enemy, and too often the masculine and feminime
Warriors make enemies of each other."

"To deny that human violence and destructive aggression is a
predominantly male phenomenon is simply to ignore enormous amounts of
evidence..."

"...men who have bypassed their Warrior initiations ... will continue
to demonize aggression while engaging in life-styles and cognitive
styles that are sadomasochistic...enabling destructive aggression in
others while avoiding responsibility for their own victimization and
the victimization of others."

"Rather than trying to eliminate masculine aggression we must harness
it in order to achieve an effective engagement of the very real
struggles we face."

[Quotations copyrighted by the authors.  Please do not reproduce
 without attribution.]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>bickis@math.usask.ca<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Mik Bickis       \,,,       .*#*.  \    University of Saskatchewan
Department of        \,,,  ^\\|//^  ```\   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Mathematics & Statistics \   )|(        ```\   Canada      S7N 0W0
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<S|A|S|K|A|T|C|H|E|W|A|N|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




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