Daughters of Saturn [Perfect Paperback]

Patricia Reis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2006

Patricia Reis examines the father-daughter relationship with a particular focus on the father's effect on a woman's creative life. Beginning with Saturn-the archetypal devouring and melancholic father-and moving through myth, dreams, and woman's experience, Reis explores the many ways that contemporary Daughters of Saturn have come to understand their experience.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A psychotherapist and feminist with degrees in English literature, psychology, and sculpture, Reis here analyzes the father-daughter relationship, in particular examining the role of the father (both the personal father and the general patriarchal society) in the daughter's development of her creative potential. Reis develops a four-stage model for a woman seeking to develop her creative autonomy: from domination by the personal father, through dealing with the expectations of society, to the search for independence and women's support, and, finally, the development of full self-confidence. Reis uses the myths of Saturn and his daughters as a prototype for society and a woman's role therein, and, in analyzing her four stages, gives examples from her personal experience and from women authors who include Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath. One need not espouse the theories and viewpoints of the author to find this a fascinating and thought-provoking book. Recommended for academic collections serving women's studies, psychology, and literature programs.?Kay Brodie, Chesapeake Coll., Wye Mills, Md.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Patricia Reis has an MFA from UCLA and a degree in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the author of Through the Goddess: A Woman's Way of Healing and The Dreaming Way: Dreamwork and Art for Remembering and Recovery.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 361 pages
• Publisher: Spring Journal, Inc (January 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882670329
• ISBN-13: 978-1882670321
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,440,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very important information on father-daughter relationshi, November 3, 1998

By 

Patricia Reis (Richmond, Maine USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughters of Saturn: From Father's Daughter to Creative Woman (Hardcover)

In Daughters of Saturn Patricia Reis explores various aspects of the father daughter relationship with a particular focus on the father's effect on a woman's creative life. Beginning with the charter myth of Saturn, the archetypal devouring and melancholic father, she explores the many ways tha Daughters of Saturn have come to name their experience and have used language to tell their stories. Through myth, dreams, and women's experiences, Reis creates a map marking a journey from life in the Belly of the Father through the First Gate of Awakening. She documents women's resistances and rebellions against the dominant culture of patriarchy, the treacherous Battlezone of Culture, and records the lives of four women writers -- Emily Dickinson, H.D., Sylvia Plath, and Anais Nin -- outlingin their struggles and strategies to live creative lives. Reis marks the trails into what she calls "The Wildzone," a place that has existence outside the law of the fathers: a woman-centered ground of being and knowing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A resounding "Yes!", July 12, 2001

By 

Clea Simon "avid reader" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Daughters of Saturn: From Father's Daughter to Creative Woman (Paperback)

I discovered this book while writing my own "Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads" (Wiley) and so I came to it having already drawn many conclusions from my own research and interviews. Still, I found myself reading this and going "yes!!" at almost every point Reis makes, often hearing in her words an elegant echo of what women had been telling me in my own interviews. As a woman who had a conflicted relationship with her father -- and as an author who has interviewed many women -- I recommend this book. It's smart, it's insightful, and it's also well written.

2.0 out of 5 stars A struggle to read, December 1, 2010

By 

Darla (Maine) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Daughters of Saturn: From Father's Daughter to Creative Woman (Paperback)

Because I found the author's book "Through The Goddess" so helpful many years ago, I thought this work of hers would help me to understand my father a little more, as well as clarify our rather distant and awkward relationship. However, I have to admit that I am struggling quite a lot trying to get through "Daughters of Saturn". It feels very angry and judgmental. If I can just get through Part One, maybe the rest will provide clarity and understanding.