Sound of a Silver Horn: Reclaiming the Heroism in Contemporary Women's Lives [Hardcover]

Kathleen (Author), Ph.D. Noble (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0788198904 | ISBN-13: 978-0788198908 | Publication Date: March 1, 1994 | Edition: 1ST

Unearths the female face of heroism & asks: What is the female hero s journey? How do women undertake the twin quests of healing & empowerment? And how can heroic women help reshape our world? Charts the contemporary woman s hero-path through the poignant stories of women Kathleen Noble has studied. From their histories, Noble has fashioned a new framework for understanding life s events, & shows women how to devise new archetypes of heroism out of their own experiences. The women described are young & old, rich & poor, of all races & faiths. They set forth on their journeys in different circumstances: a stifling marriage, single parenthood, & an alcoholic family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prescinding from the male model of hero, psychologist Noble invites an examination of the lives of 35 women from the perspective of the heroic quest. The female hero's journey, as exemplified in their stories and that of the personal/spiritual odyssey of the author, is sparsely peopled with role models and allies. In Noble's words, "If the male hero has 'a thousand faces,' as Campbell claimed, the female hero has virtually none." Her purpose is to construct a female hero myth that allows women to perceive themselves as "heroes of their own lives, authors of their own stories." A panorama of contemporary women in diverse settings--a Catholic convent, an African American household--shows the various subjects at different points on their heroic journey, all cultivating potential that other women can emulate to similarly transform their lives. Never strident, this is a stimulating contribution to literature on women's psychological and spiritual development. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Noble describes the hero's journey, about which so many authors, including Joseph Campbell, Carol Pearson, and Katherine Pope, have written. Noble, a teacher and practising psychologist, approaches her subject with a sense of connection and often refers to her own painful personal journey. Her female hero does not take the various forms (e.g., wanderer, warrior, martyr, and magician) that Pearson's hero does in The Hero Within (HarperCollins, 1986) but instead tackles dragons that women in particular must slay in order to proceed with their initiation and transformation. Noble's ingenuousness is refreshing, and her empathetic writing is a joy to read. She believes that spirituality is one of the characteristics that gifted women possess, allowing them to transform themselves and bring something back to the world from their heroic journeys. Recommended for all libraries.
- Paula N. Arnold, Vermont Coll. Lib., Norwich Univ., Montpelier
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett Columbine; 1ST edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788198904
• ISBN-13: 978-0788198908
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,336,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly inspirational book!, March 26, 2000

By 

"gree" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sound of a Silver Horn: Reclaiming the Heroism in Contemporary Women's Lives (Paperback)

Kathleen Noble has written an absolutely outstanding book for women! This book is both eye-opening and inspiring. Noble points out that while we are at times virtually inundated with examples of male heroes, examples of the female hero can be few and far between. She tells both her own story and those of other women, and in the doing, gives faces to true female heroes. She also lays out a veritable bluprint for women to reclaim their own heroism and truly chart their own path. I return to this book again and again, and recommend it to all intelligent women!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully empowering book!, April 15, 2010

By 

Elizabeth A. Hart (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sound of a Silver Horn: Reclaiming the Heroism in Contemporary Women's Lives (Paperback)

In popular mythology there are stories and legends aplenty about great heroes who go on quests and, after facing overwhelming odds, return home victorious. These heroes continue their stories throughout the ages, of men who face dragons, fight for what they believe in, and change the times they live in whether for the better or the worse. In The Sound of a Silver Horn a question is posed, why are there no such heroes for women? Why isn't there a "female hero" to journey alone, to face great odds, to change things? Why, when asked to name such a woman, can we only name a few, and only a very small number of them real?

So much feminist literature is hateful towards the male gender or harps about what keeps women from being fully human, fully real, fully heroic. This book is more empowering about what women can do to get past that and change themselves, to become a "female hero" in their own lives. It gives examples of modern day, contemporary female heroes dealing with struggles, quests, and transformations in that special way that only women can.

I especially enjoyed the linear fashion the book took, piecing apart the standard arc of a hero's journey and showing how women have done it in their own way and in their own circumstances. It covers how the journey begins, the call to awaken, facing the dragons of initiation, gaining allies, and of course the transformation and victorious return.

The only reason this book lost a star is because there was one section that, had it been closer to the front of the book, might have prevented me from being able to finish it. The section goes into the belief of spirituality, of having visions and dreams that foretell your own future, and of listening to them when making major life decisions. I am not a spiritualist and so found this advice, located towards the end and in one small section, to not gel at all with my world view. In fact, I found it so far fetched that I nearly stopped reading right there, even being so close to the end.

Throughout the rest of the book, the examples of heroism, positive messages, and encouragement on the quest to transform into better women was empowering and thought provoking to read about. I enjoyed the book a lot and would recommend it to women looking for examples of "female heroes" who succeeded where they now tread as a light of hope to help them, and empower them, to complete their own quests, wherever they might lead.