My mother was dying. I recognized the Greek goddesses and the archetypal patterns of behavior in my own life and the lives of other women I knew. Thanks to Dr. Bolen, I wised up. And that's the point. The girl becomes a maiden when she first menstruates, a mother when she gives birth, and a crone at menopause.
Some cultures revere the third-phase archetype.
In the Iroquois nation, for example, the woman in her third phase was respected by the tribe and her counsel welcomed. In other cultures the crone became demonized, even known as a witch. In today's society, instead of holding the crone in low regard, we are given permission to develop a shift of identity by recognizing the inner archetypes of the third stage of life. We tire of pleasing everybody but ourselves. We want change and insist upon it.