Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-194) and indexes.

Heroic acts of women throughout history have been ignored, misinterpreted, and maligned. For example, Miriam Polster contrasts the condemnation of Eve with the admiration for Prometheus, although each defied the gods and gave humanity knowledge. Polster reveals that our understanding of heroism in society is entrenched in archaic male archetypes that are potentially destructive and often irrelevant to our daily lives. Offering a positive approach to the psychology of women, Polster explains why we must celebrate the heroism of women, from Eve to the champions of everyday life - the single mother in night school, the female scientist in a male-dominated field, the victim of harassment demanding justice. Drawing on case examples from her private practice as well as mythology, biblical commentary, and anthropology, she shows how a different, unheralded kind of heroism - the heroism of women - is more attuned to the real social and psychological needs of women, men, and children today. Polster shows how women and men, in confronting their own daily struggles, need not be limited to stereotypical male heroism, but can rely on their innate and unique strengths and qualities - as women heroes have done for centuries - to embody true heroism, achieve goals, and realize self-fulfillment.

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