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

Symbols & Motifs

The Wild Woman

The concept of the Wild Woman pervades the book in a variety of ways. In one sense, the Wild Woman is an archetype that defines the most basic and primal aspects of a woman’s nature. A variant of the expression describes a cosmic creation divinity, generally called the Wild Goddess. Although Wild Goddess permeates all aspects of the material world and every living creature, human females have a particular connection to this deity because of their intrinsically wild female natures.

Different aspects of the Wild Woman persona are explored in the book’s various chapters. La Loba posits the wild woman’s affinity with the wolf, and the wolf’s refusal to be caged, as the creature reanimated from bones transforms into a laughing woman who runs away into the night. Vasalisa and her magic doll personify the intuition attributed to the Wild Woman. The uninhibited physicality of the feral female is exemplified in the stories of Manawee and the Butterfly Woman. The firm determination to remain true to one’s primal nature is illustrated by the story of Seal Woman.

The Wild Woman archetype frequently fuses with the Wild Goddess because, in searching for the truth of female nature, the searcher will invariably come into contact with the indefinable essence at the core of her being—the goddess personified. The two concepts intermix throughout the book so that the Wild Woman stands for the Wild Goddess in the world of man.

Wolves

Although any wild creature might be a suitable familiar for a woman intent on reclaiming her wild nature, the author sees close parallels between the wolf and the Wild Woman. Both are endangered species. For centuries, humans have attempted to exterminate wolves because they are perceived as a threat to livestock and, by inference, to civilization itself. They cannot be domesticated and made to serve the needs of man, like the dog.

Wild Woman is seen as a threat to civilization because she refuses to conform to established rules for proper female behavior. She cannot be tamed and will not serve the needs of man any more than the wolf will. Both creatures rely on instinct rather than logic to carry them through life. Both retain a connection to nature through their essential being. The first and the last stories in the book explicitly demonstrate the connection between wolf and woman.

In “La Loba,” the wolf’s bones sung to life transform into a laughing woman who runs free into the night. She doesn’t seek home and hearth. She seeks independence. In the final story, the wolf and woman fuse again when a girl uses a wolf’s eyelash to see into people’s hearts. She cannot be fooled by verbal protests of honesty and decency. She seeks to find truth only in the soul, just as the wolf does. In recent years, environmentalists have come to respect the role that the wolf plays in maintaining ecological balance in the world. Perhaps humans will come to value the Wild Woman for restoring balance to the female psyche.

Mythology

The Wild Woman archetype may seem strange and frightening to women seeking their primal selves for the first time. Through myth, the author highlights various aspects of the persona and explains how a woman can make contact with the Wild Goddess within.

Rather than conveying the entire identity of the Wild Woman in a single myth, the author defines the archetype through a gentle series of steps. Because the truth-seeker will encounter some nasty obstacles along the way, the steps are also described in story form. The people and pitfalls that impede progress are much less daunting when first encountered in fable form; the frightening inner predator that all women must face can be defeated because the young wife in the story of Bluebeard shows them how, and women immobilized by rage can find an escape route by reading about the Crescent Moon Bear. Even those whose journey seems permanently derailed can find hope in the tale of the golden-haired woman who won’t let even death stop her from speaking the truth.

Beyond providing simple encouragement, stories also direct attention to their historic sources. Ancient storytellers were well aware of the Wild Goddess and passed on her tales for thousands of years, securing for her an enduring place in the hearts of women, ancient and modern. Many tales are derived from a time in human history when goddesses were the supreme deities and society was less patriarchal. These stories create a precedent for female autonomy, offering hope to those women who believe they never had power and never will.