Primitive Passions: Men, Women, and the Quest for Ecstasy [Paperback]

Marianna Torgovnick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226808378 | ISBN-13: 978-0226808376 | Publication Date: October 1, 1998 | Edition: 1

Marianna Torgovnick's Primitive Passions investigates Westerners' profound attraction to cultures that we call "primitive." Torgovnick explores the stories of Carl Jung, Isak Dinesen, D. H. Lawrence, and Georgia O'Keefe and the ways they used the primitive as a medium for soul-searching and personal fulfillment. Brilliantly linking literature, art, psychology, and cultural studies, Primitive Passions provides insight into our very notion of the exotic.

"Primitive Passions intends to provoke thought, not to tell you what you already know and for that reason alone it's extraordinary."—Walter Kendrick, New York Times Book Review

"A powerfully argued, impassioned, and intelligent exploration of the 'primitive' in our culture and in ourselves. Like Marianna Torgovnick's previous work, it is certain to be much discussed and provocative."—Joyce Carol Oates

"An inspiring effort to bring gender to bear on matters of race, ethnic identity, and spirituality."—Susan Gubar

"A fascinating, wide-ranging and provocative tour of twentieth century Western culture."—Cynthia D. Schrager, Women's Review of Books

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the 18th and 19th centuries, colonization of so-called "primitive cultures" by Western countries was the way of the world. Powerful nations sought to increase their wealth and power by subjugating the peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Now, in the 20th century, cultures once dismissed as inferior have become a source of fascination to Westerners, who perceive in them a heightened spirituality, stronger sense of community, greater reverence for nature--all the things, in fact, that the West fears it has lost. Marianna Torgovnick, a professor and chair of the English department at Duke University, explores the West's modern quest for ecstasy in the provocative work Primitive Passions.

What makes Professor Torgovnick's book so valuable is how wide she casts her net. New Age philosophy, travel literature--even the movie Dances with Wolves--are all grist for her discussion. C. G. Jung, Isak Dinesen, Georgia O'Keeffe, and D. H. Lawrence populate her chronicle as she examines the different ways men and women respond to primitive ecstasy. Primitive Passions is an intelligent and illuminating survey. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Torgovnick (English, Duke Univ.) successfully elaborates upon her previous book, Gone Primitive (LJ 6/15/90), which dealt with the Western fascination with primitivism. In the first two sections of her new book, she contrasts Western male and female perceptions of the primitive by analyzing the lives and works of intellectuals and artists ranging from Andre Gide to Georgia O'Keeffe. In the third section, she examines the current Western attraction to primitivism apparent in the widespread admiration of Native American culture and traditions and in the attempts of the men's movement and New Agers to imitate what they perceive to be Native American customs or spirituality. Dividing her book this way effectively allows the reader to see a clear difference in how men and women see the primitive and to admit the possibility that the primitive is still valued in today's Western world. A worthy addition to academic anthropology collections that will also be appreciated both by scholars in literature and gender studies and informed lay readers.?Ximena Chrisagis, Wright State Univ. Lib., Dayton, Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226808378
• ISBN-13: 978-0226808376
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #730,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essay on sexuality and ethnography with a literary bent, April 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Primitive Passions: Men, Women, and the Quest for Ecstasy (Hardcover)

According to Torgovnick, the modern quest for ecstasy began during the upheavals of World War I, with a dread that Western civilization had taken the demonic turn. She tells the stories of culture icons such as Carl Jung, Isak Dinesen, D. H. Lawrence, and Georgia O'Keeffe as they discovered-whether with horror or relish-the primitive as a medium for soul-searching and personal change. Such persons have become role models, rousing people today who ache to experience what they sense to be humanity's primary meaningful link to the universe. It is this yearning, the desire to transcend the limitations of the body and western culture, as Torgovoick contends, that motivates an astonishing variety of contemporary practices stimulated by the primitive-such as genital piercing, New Age rituals , and the men's movement. Torgovnick explores the psychology of our profound attraction to cultures we call "primitive." Whether located in Africa, the South Pacific, or the American Southwest, the primitive has become synonymous in the Western imagination with a range of emotions and experiences thought to be lost in modern life: reverence for the land and for nature; strong communal bonds; sexual plenitude; and, perhaps most intriguing, an ecstatic sense of connection to the universe and the life force. Torgovoick investigates the numerous ways we have turned toward the primitive out of spiritual hunger for such deeply human experiences-a hunger that could once be satisfied within the West's own mystical traditions but that often no longer can be. Written in a flowing, page-turning style. this tour of early twentieth century infatuation with the primitive utilizes many sources to offer a cultural history that is entertaining despite its lack of theoretical insight into our cultural dilemmas. The volume consists of a laundry list of aspects of our culture. Religion, art, psychology, and literature are exploited for their insight into our ideas of spirituality and gender, and, ultimately, into the hidden but vital parts of ourselves.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book, October 2, 2009

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L. Robinson (South Boston, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Primitive Passions: Men, Women, and the Quest for Ecstasy (Paperback)

I read this book in college and loved and bought it again so that I could use parts in a high school class I'm teaching...