Women Who Run with the Wolves

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1992

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-10

Chapters 11-13

Chapters 14-16

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Reclaiming One’s True Nature

The major premise of Women Who Run With the Wolves is that most women are alienated from their true natures. This principle is less a theme than the raison d’etre for the entire book. The individual chapters are stepping stones to achieving that goal. According to Estés, psychologists have devoted too little attention to the unique aspects of the female mind. An enormous amount of cultural and familial pressure is exerted to make women conform to the stereotype of soft-spoken, passive ladies. In contrast, Estés believes that female nature is far less polite and far more primal than either society or psychologists realize.

The female essence aligns closely with the archetype of the Wild Woman, who is passionate, instinctual, assertive, and freedom-loving. Women have been actively discouraged from glorifying the qualities they have been taught to suppress, so Estés attempts to engage the reader on a less threatening level by using stories and fables. The objective is to re-establish a connection between the outer woman who goes about the mundane tasks of daily life and the inner Wild Woman who may feel inclined to howl at the moon.

The road to reconnection with this nascent power contains a number of steps and pitfalls. Each chapter employs a set of stories to illustrate a particular characteristic of the Wild Woman archetype. Because the true female nature is so at odds with gendered norms, the task of self-discovery can’t be accomplished overnight. Not all women are prepared to confront their own primal selves, and only women brave enough to run with the wolves are likely to undertake the journey in the first place. As the last chapter says, those who prefer never to enter the woods are free to stay at home, but their lives will never begin if they don’t take the risk.

The Enemies of Enlightenment

As a woman takes her first uncertain steps in the direction of self-discovery, she will encounter both internal and external obstacles. Several chapters focus on the kinds of enemies who will try to derail her from the outset. The most surprising of these is the shadowy part of a woman’s own nature that wishes her to fail. The author stresses that this inner predator afflicts both men and women, but women are more likely to experience this voice as an external male authority figure who denigrates all achievement and crushes all hope. Bluebeard best illustrates such a destructive figure, but he isn’t alone in his determination to destroy female initiative.

Tellingly, the author doesn’t blame external forces for all forms of sabotage. Instead, she recognizes that enemies of enlightenment exist in the outer world and in the inner landscape as well; the latter are solely the responsibility of the individual woman to quell. The tale of La Llorona, for example, focuses on how women can muddy the waters of their own creativity by procrastinating and finding excuses for why their artistic expressions will never be good enough.

The girl in “The Red Shoes” becomes obsessed with wearing shoes that cast an evil spell in much the same way that female creative artists succumb to alcohol or drug addiction. The story of “The Crescent Moon Bear” illustrates the degree to which rage can paralyze all creative endeavor. Similarly, holding on to shameful secrets can create a dead zone in a woman’s life that immobilizes her and prevents future growth. Many of the folk tales used in the book are attempts to get a woman to recognize the ways in which she has immobilized herself. Once unstuck, she can continue her soul journey to find her true self.

Cycles of Life and Mind

Folk tales from ancient cultures tacitly acknowledge the cyclical nature of life. This belief directly contradicts the linear interpretation promoted in most modern cultures. The latter tend to interpret death as the antithesis of life instead of the next phase in a continuous cycle. For this reason, the ancient Crone Goddess is vilified, and witches are traditionally viewed as evil. The story of Vasalisa contradicts the linear approach by depicting Baba Yaga as both fearsome and protective.

The tale of Skeleton Woman shows an animated skeleton, who is reconstituted again as a living woman; in another story, La Loba also sings bones back into life. The cycle of life, death, and rebirth, however, isn’t simply repeated on the physical level. The author frequently points out the cyclical nature of inwardly reclaiming the Wild Woman archetype: The steps from foolish innocent to wise sage don’t proceed in a linear fashion, and a woman is often required to repeat a set of steps until the lesson has been learned. “The Crescent Moon Bear” emphasizes the need for patience in taming rage; a series of actions must be repeated at regular intervals to achieve self-mastery.

Similarly, the author stresses that the reader shouldn’t lose heart when a story ends badly for the heroine. Stories are linear, but life and the recovery of self are not. The woman with golden hair is murdered and only finds justice from the grave; from this tale, Estés extracts the moral that one should never lose hope. It’s never too late to right a wrong and begin anew to reclaim one’s truth. The life-death-rebirth cycle offers infinite chances for renewal.