Archetype of the Female Choice

For thousands of years women have been faced by a terrible choice in some situations. Having been seen as possessions or goods in many cultures, their capture and unwilling possession by another tribe or culture faced them with this awful choice. The decision they had to make was whether to place themselves, whether to take a stand or attitude as a wife of this unchosen male, or whether to be his slave or in some cases live as a prostitute.

Sometimes it was other circumstances than capture that put women in this position. The choice was between starvation or prostitution, which also held in it the possibility of being a type of slave. The enormous length of time that women have been faced by these choices have made this into an archetype that often appears in women’s dreams or fantasies, and still, in some parts of the world, as something they meet in their everyday life.

To some extent the potential this archetype brings into a woman’s life offers a great strength. Not that men have not faced similar hard choices, but women have been more fully challenged in this area. The strength it brings is that of being able to make changes in their attitude or emotional state to meet exterior needs. One woman called it ‘the steel’ the strength to deal with awful life situations.

The negative side of this archetype is that of feeling the ultimate victim and pawn of men. The positive is of feeling you can direct your life and possess your own soul no matter what outer circumstances do to you. The difference is one of choice.

On explore this I wrote:

She – a woman born in London and was shipped out to Australia – is saying to the lady, who is well meaning and wants to help, but also secretly wants to understand how or why the woman is so angry and independent, that she doesn’t even begin to understand. How can she help if she doesn’t understand. The lady asks why the woman is rejecting her. The reply is that she isn’t rejecting HER, it is all the stupidity the woman is living that she rejects, though sometimes she can’t find the words to say exactly what the stupidity is. But the relationship is about finding out.

As I understand it at the moment, the woman has been pushed into being aware in a rudimentary way of how the class system pushes women of lower birth into a terrible dilemma. In the time I explored with my wife, I stood in the role of the woman and described how those in positions of authority, and that meant almost anyone born into greater wealth and education, all used it to manipulate the lower class. It was used like a pressure to push women into taking a man in one form or another. As the woman I felt that I had avoided prostitution by accepting that men wanted sex, so I could choose either to have it unwillingly with one man or with many. I chose the one man option, and did what was necessary to keep myself in that role, as the other options were worse.

Useful Questions and Hints:

Where am I placing myself in this situation?

Do I really understand the difference between ‘have to’ and ‘decide to’ or ‘want to’?

Am I feeling like a victim or in possession of myself?

Try using Practical techniques for exploring your dreams.