Woman’s Lore: 4000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubae

Blurb

Woman’s Lore is a journey through the history of an ever-present female archetype – ‘the harpy’, ‘siren’, ‘ temptress’. These archetypes are ones we are all familiar with, but are we aware of their true power and ability to impact the lives of real women?

In Woman’s Lore: 4000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubae, we meet archetypes used across religion, art and literature – fields dominated by men since their conception. We learn how these archetypes and their negative associations were used to shape the roles women were given, to deem what was acceptable, and to help keep them down.

The story of how these traditions were co-opted by men and transformed into language against women is a story that goes back millennia. Sarah Clegg traces their history from ancient Mesopotamia through the Renaissance and Victorian era and Christian tradition, as well as revealing how a contemporary society has been altering the perception of these archetypes in women’s favour to empower a new generation.