The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets

by Barbara G. Walker

Book, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

Publication

San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1983.

Original publication date

1983

Physical description

xi, 1124 p.; 24 cm

Local notes

This fascinating, scholarly hodgepodge spotlights the feminist underpinnings of myth, religion, and culture. Before being lionized as zaftig Norse angels who guided strong warriors to Valhalla, Valkyries may have offered rebirth through cannibalization. "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on Diana, goddess of the hunt. Marriage was once considered a sin, not a sacred union: St. Bernard once proclaimed "it was easier for a man to bring the dead back to life than to live with a woman without endangering his soul." A few of the other topics expounded upon are the Milky Way, Cinderella, the moon, and males giving birth. While some of the references put a cranky feminist spin on words that might in context have different meaning--St. Paul's oft-quoted "better to marry than to burn," for example--much in this vast tome will dazzle dabblers and intellectuals alike.

User reviews

LibraryThing member ArlieS

This is a work of fiction presented as if it were non-fiction, complete with footnotes to real works that don't support the author's points. I don't know what parts of this work are actually true, but once I found the dishonest footnotes, I didn't care.

I understand the desire to have lots of

history favorable to one's group, and to imagine a better past when one doesn't like current conditions. Any number of authors of honest fiction do an excellent job of imagining such pasts. I can even kind of understand selecting the least likely explanation for some fact, if that's the one that feels most congenial, and writing it up with "could be ..." and "some researchers suggest ...".

But none of that excuses dishonest footnotes.

You can't learn anything from this work, even if parts of it are in fact true, because you'll never know which parts were basically made up. Checking for reliable-seeming sources won't help; you need to actually read the author's supposed sources.

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LibraryThing member melannen

This is a fun book - in a kitsch sort of way, not as good anthropology. Read it for what it tells you about the author, not for what it tells you about mythology. In this book, the biases are so transparent that it's a good guide for reading other interpretations, also biased but less ridiculously

so. And it's a great example of a constructed mythology, if you're interesting in building your own. It's also fun to play 'six degrees of Kali'.

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LibraryThing member PinkPandaParade

Despite the title, Barbara G. Walker's incredibly thorough handling of female connections and allusions in different cultures, ethnicities, histories, etc. is highly useful and engaging for anyone interested in myth, history, or society in general. In fact, the synopsis includes a highly praising

quote from Russell Hoban, the author of _Riddley Walker_. The _Encyclopedia_ covers a huge number of interesting topics that is told in a style of writing that is not "monotone" as most normal encyclopedias are. Among other things, it covers the significance of Cinderella's glass slipper, the various mythologies and beliefs surrounding the moon, and the symbolic qualities of things like pomegranates and hair. It answers questions like, "Who was Adam's first wife?" "Why is breaking a mirror considered to be bad luck?" and "Was there ever a female pope or a real Easter bunny?" I have gained so much knowledge from this book, which is best-read by flipping through it and stopping at different points of interest or curiosity. Aside from her entries, Walker includes interesting trivia on the margins and begins each section with various images of historic statues, sculptures, paintings, and photographs.Walker is really worthy of much praise here. Over 1100 pages and over 20 years of research has resulted in an amazing fusion of myth, history, legend, culture, religion, and so many countless other disciplines. The detail is simply unbelievable. I found myself so enthralled in this book, much like I would be caught up in a good suspense novel. It is easy to get completely caught up in this book. So many topics are covered, and once I came up with one at random and found Walker's coverage and research on it, my mind popped up with yet another possibility to discover.

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LibraryThing member maiadeb

Vital ingrediant to a feminist library

LibraryThing member lilinah

A real piece of junk. This was very popular among Pagans, Goddess-worshippers, and feminists when it came out. But Walker's resources are antiquated and long out-dated by newer studies.

Unreliable and not to be taken seriously. It's more wishful thinking then real thought.

Clearly NOT recommended.

LibraryThing member mysterytramp

NOT just for women!! The best one volume reference on mythology, "hidden" history, & feminine origins of just about everything. Extended essays throughout are scholarly & extraordinarily informative. Highly recommended.

LibraryThing member adriadne

When I read this years ago, I checked some of her "sources" because some of what I read just didn't seem plausible. I thought it was quite a stretch from the supposed source to her interpretation in many cases. Interesting ideas and perhaps a good jumping off point for further research and

exploration though.

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LibraryThing member Czrbr

Book Description: San Francisco: Harper Row, 1983. Good. First Edition. 8vo - over 7�" - 9Â¾" tall.

LibraryThing member allyshaw

The prolific Barbara G. Walker-- what would we do without her? I refer to this epic endeavor of hers quite often. It is a wealth of information, idiosyncratically presented in such a way that it reminds me of Johnson's first dictionary-- a willful presentation of a myriad silenced histories with no

pretense of being objective about it.

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LibraryThing member ftmckinstry

There is a great deal of information in this book, but it's written with such a heavy bias that I found myself irritated and questioning the research. I would have preferred to get this information in a more thoughtful, well-researched way, instead of being bludgeoned by the author's slanted point

of view.

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