This thesis engages with the feminist argument that women need to create a culture of the female and rediscover female genealogy. The misogynistic, theological and philosophical narratives on Woman are deconstructed. Using the metaphor of divining as a tool for searching for a source the author seeks to discover the source of Woman, one not bound by male definition and control. In removing the stigma of Woman as 'misbegotten male' and cause of 'original sin' Woman's sexuality and spirituality are recognised. Female sex is acknowledged and the difference reframed so that male sex no longer holds the dominant position. Woman becomes Divine, and it is a divinity that signifies her earthly interactions in her spiritual, social and personal life. After the divining a female genealogy is created and the divine is drawn out in woman. The writing and analyses of Virginia Woolf and Luce Irigaray are drawn on to establish the basis of the research methodology. Creativity, myths, story, poetry, fiction and feminist analysis are used to find the woman hidden in traditional patriarchal rendering of history. This thesis is both a historical and autobiographical research taken within the context of the author's cultural influences. It is a transdisciplinary research within a set framework, concentrating on women's sexual and spiritual specificity. Greek and Celtic history, Wicca, Christianity and Buddhism are included, with an inclusive but not in-depth analysis of these traditions. The underlying theme of this thesis is women's disconnection from each other. In the author's personal story it concerns her mother, sister and herself. In the collective story it is about women's loss of their female genealogy and connection to their women's history. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/238485 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Flower, Jane, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, College of Social and Health Sciences, School of Applied Social and Human Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Source | THESIS_CSHS_ASH_Flower_J.xml |
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