Where did the wild woman run?

Introduction

Let me start out like so many others; we live in a fast-paced world bla bla bla. We diverted from the path without looking up, technology took off, yet somehow we still patiently await the flying car. I want to disregard the good and the bad of technology, go back to before we diverted, and put human and nature back in focus.

The Danish book Ny Jord – Tidskrift for Naturkritik (New Earth: Journal of Nature Criticism) by Peter Meedom and Jeppe Sengupta Carstensen, came to life based on a desire to establish a new critical concept – Nature Criticism ☞Nature Criticism explores the connection between human and nature, whilst viewing the two as inseparable entities.
. “The preconditions for nature criticism, we believe, are once and for all to move beyond the idea that human beings and nature are separated or can in any way be kept apart.” (Meedom). I want to add to this conversation by bringing ecofeminism ☞Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism which examines the connection between women and nature. Its name was first coined in 1974 by French feminist Françoise d’Eaubonne. It used the basic feminist tenets of equality between genders, a revaluing of non-patriarchal or nonlinear structures, and a view of the world that respects organic processes, holistic connections, and the merit of intuition and collaboration (Miles).
to the table as a hot topic, because just like we can’t separate the human from nature, we can’t separate women’s oppression from the domination of nature.

Figure 1; Sørensen, Julie W. “Somewhere in the Hague” Analouge Photograph, 2023.

‘Mother Nature’ is thrown around without hesitation, yet somehow down the line we forgot what that embodies. The personification of nature has deep roots entangled with the image of the Mother, and within the patriarchal world ☞Patriarchy refers to the greater aggregate power that men have over women and further genders, in terms of social, political, economic and hierarchies of power between individual men and groups of men (Strid, and Hearn).
the understanding of womanhood and the mother has been welded together. This type of thinking has ties to our culture, our ancestry and the Collective Unconscious, and with the Danes’ mindset turning more and more individualistic, I will through various ways of thinking, lay the groundwork to explore the evolution of womanhood and the interrelations to the enchanted forest. With the forest as a symbol of nature, I will focus on the Danish landscape, with the aim of understanding when this deep entanglement started to drift apart. Through historical roots, mythology, Queens of the Monarchy, Hysteria, and a nationwide wolf hunt I will offer a brief insight into the wilderness of my entangled thoughts of the Danish wild womanhood. Who is she?

Along the way, many terms will be defined to assure we are on the same path ☞For definitions I have relied on online encyclopedia.
. Allow me to ask questions with no answers, contemplate and contradict my words, and possibly leave you hanging. I’m only human. Let your soul lead the way.

Perspective: my groundwork of understanding

It’s important to note that my observations, judgments and thoughts are based on my heritage and upbringing in Denmark and Germany, as a white woman.

Thought 1

A network of historical roots

We live in a part of the world designed and curated by white men for white men (Northern Europe), and with western patriarchy tightly knit with colonialism, deep-rooted marks have been left on a great deal of the world ☞Whilst still noting there are matrilineal societies in the world to this day which have not been deeply westernized (Nelson).
. An example is how we perceive the meaning of womanhood, despite the occasional (read; widespread) ignorance, or as Carl Jung calls it; our Collective Unconscious. Which is the theory that a part of the mind contains memories and impulses, which are based on archetypical personalities that are perceived as universal symbols and representations of the common human experiences and emotions (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Key here is the unawareness of these instincts, which correlates well with the ideas that tend to disregard our ancestral experiences as sources of knowledge, a sense of guidance through the wild world.

Languages, cultures and mythologies have through centuries personified Earth and Nature via the portrayal of the Mother and/or Goddesses ☞To name a few; the Akan Mythology, Asase Ya, also known as Abrewa, in Sumerian Mythology; Nihursag, the Goddess Gaia from Greek Mythology, and in Norse Mythology, although not mentioned often in stories, the mother of Thor and Odin; Jörð old Norse for soil/earth.
. She flows through the trees, dances in the air, nurtures the ground and kisses your cheek with a breeze. Coincidentally the word nature is derived from the Latin natura, which in ancient times meant birth. The characteristic of the Mother archetype is nurturing, life-giving, a natural caretaker, and if Mother births and birth means nature, it’s fair to say there is little to no room of escaping the metaphor. But this is not about Mothers, it’s about womanhood and nature as a whole, it is about us.

Womanhood “the state or condition of being a woman, the qualities considered to be natural or characteristics of a woman, and women considered collectively” and to be a woman? “An adult female human being.”. Great, thanks Google. But what does it mean to be female? The aim of this is not to discuss sex, gender, binary or the non-binary, however, it is crucial we have mutual understanding – between author and reader. Womanhood and the feeling of being woman does not have to do with what is defined as biological sex. To be women does not mean to be female, therefore, I choose to reject the google definition of women. Yet it is crucial to acknowledge the base of research that grounds the stereotypes are based on women with wombs. This is an effort to reclaim the meaning of women and womanhood.

Figure 2; Sørensen, Julie W. “Zoom in of Status showing a snake and an apple” Digital Photograph, 17 Sept. 2023.

Let’s visit our friends Eve and Adam, most of us know the story; Eve ate an apple (pardon me - forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge and good and evil) because a serpent convinced her (stupid snake), and Adam followed not long after. God – of course – found out because ‘He’ sees all, and ‘He’ punished the female body with bearing child, and excruciating pain at childbirth (labor), and the male body with the oh so very labor (ironic) intensive work of grooming the ‘accursed’ grounds aka Earth. This can easily be explained as the birth of the patriarchy ☞Men = grooming earth
Earth = nature
Nature = birth
Birth = Mother
Mother = woman
Men = grooming women .

Whether we choose to believe the stories of the Bible or not, there have been people around for a long time, and somehow, we agreed on the discourse of the earliest tools humanity made were weapons. From the early Stone Age tools being hammerstones and sharp stone flake, to the advancement of the middle Stone Age with spears, awls and scrapers (Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program). The symbol of hunting and killing accompanied by the male hero ☞The archetype of the hero is a character who acts as a force of the greater good, defending those weaker than themselves to the point of self-sacrifice. They’re usually elevated above those around them in some way, whether that’s through a superpower or magical advantage, or through an exemplary personal trait such as great courage or compassion (Callaghan).
, the prey and the gasp-worthy story of the hunt. In her text, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin offers a rewrite of our narrative by proposing that the first tool was a tool for gathering, holding and containing, a recipient. Questioning the stereotypical role of survival, offering the narrative of humankind as gatherers and harvesters (women) rather than hunters and killers (men). I would propose this narrative has never been told due to the lack of tangible evidence, as I can only imagine the material of the recipients could not stand the test of time and have become lost evidence. She knows the souls and spirits from before your time. She knows neglect. Maybe even our hands can be seen as the first recipients, but with that comes no great plot for storytelling. I choose to reject the killer story and embrace what has been neglected for too long, the steady story. The part which offers the recipient as the source of survival. The narrative of the gatherers.

“The trouble is, we’ve all let ourselves become part of the killer story, and so we may get finished along with it. Hence it is with a certain feeling of urgency that I seek the nature, subject, words of the other story, the untold one, the life story.” (Le Guin, 2). The relation of womanhood and nature is a bond we cannot neglect, yet we have become greatly separated from our ancestors, lost connection to the forest and the deep-rooted marks are feelings of emptiness I believe we seek fulfilment within. She knows the true wild woman.

Thought 2

Mythology of the land and the enchanted forest

Before Christianity entered the waters of Denmark, it was mythological Goddesses and Gods from Norse Mythology which guided the people of the Viking era (McCoy, “Norse Mythology for Smart People.”). The myths serving as the fundament of the belief were communicated through odes ☞A type of lyric poetry, which elaborates structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally.
and sagas ☞The word means story, tale or history and usually refers specifically to the Prose narratives.
, passed down by our ancestors through tales and stories. The believers of Norse mythology saw the world as enchanted, with no need to seek salvation, and found peace living with nature, the enchanted forest and its spirits. Yet still not truly free. A time where gatherers and the patriarchy coexisted. She was thriving. Running through the forests, swimming in the lakes. As the world’s population grows, many seek the city high, and the closest we now get to living in an enchanted forest is the ‘stupid walk for my stupid mental health’ or our domesticated house plants, usually far from native to the land. I mean, who doesn’t know someone with a monstera living in the corner of their living room? (Guilty as charged).

The Swedes and Norwegians have their mountains and what seems to be never-ending forests, where folklore and fairytales are thriving and spreading like fairy dust. Today in Denmark we don’t have the same scale of geographical features ☞In my opinion Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not ours to claim.
and I find myself asking: Where is the fairy dust? Don’t get me wrong, tales are told, stories are passed on, and we have a whole lot of coasts, but it seems the tales of the seas stayed with the sailors and never made it on land to stay. She is with us. Might seem long gone but she is there. Our enchanted forests have been domesticated into agricultural land, and the forest which remains has been suffocated from all mystery and magic. Brewing by the shores, deep in the soil by the roots of the trees. The vast majority of our forests have been tampered with, whether it is due to monoculture or storm secure, the Danish wilderness is far from wild. No place left to run. Whilst the enchanted forests turned into agricultural masses of land and waved goodbye to its magic, the oppression of women continued to thrive. This is not an issue specific to Denmark, it is a concern throughout the world, Denmark is just such a beautiful example.

Figure 3; A casting mould with spaces for a Thor’s hammer, and a cross. Digital Photo.

In Jelling you find the marked in King Harald Bluetooth’s runestone from 965, the declaration of Christianity (“Christianity Comes to Denmark.”). Changing our mythology of how we view the world does not happen overnight, and the first Christian mission dates to around 710, meaning between the 6^th century and the late 10^th century, Christianity found a way to gradually co-exist with the Nordic Goddesses and Gods. Over time Christianity pushed the spirits out the way, where previously we found peace with the wilderness of the forest, suddenly a promise of salvation was created, and we sought validation and acceptance through the church. What remained of her was left behind. Our ancestorial connection to the land started to drift as we no longer sought salvation within ourselves, and the myths of the Goddesses, Gods, spirits and the enchanted forest became tales told at night rather than a deeply rooted belief system.

Thought 3

Queens of the monarchy Thought 3: Queens of the monarchy

The Danish Kingdom is one of the oldest in Europe and the second oldest monarchy in the world, and the past two generations have experienced growing up with H.M. Queen Margrethe the 2^nd’s New Year’s speech for the past 52 years. In 1387, Margrete the 1^st was unofficially appointed as the first Queen with ruling power ☞“No woman had ever reigned as Denmark’s queen, but Margaret didn’t let a few laws of succession stand in the way. She adopted her six-year-old nephew and had herself named the “sovereign lady” of Denmark and Norway. When the Swedish nobles agreed a month later to accept Margaret as their “rightful master,” they dubbed her “Lady King”.” Through time, the term Lady King turned into a way of recognizing her abilities (Gottlieb, 221).
(“The Transition to Christianity - National Museum of Denmark.”). She unified Denmark, Norway and Sweden by the union of Kalmar, but recent discoveries found that she might not have been the first highly influential Queen of Denmark. Turning the time back to the gruesome actions, which we now know as the tales of the Vikings, we meet Gorm the Old and Queen Thyra ☞Interesting to point out is the fact that Harald Bluetooth was the son of Thyra and Gorm, and some believe he was the first King of Denmark due to uncertainty of the land mass his parents ruled over, whereas others count his parents as the first King and Queen of the Kingdom of Denmark.
who came to power around 936. The discourse of the regent couple until this point placed Gorm as the man in charge, however a new research article suggests that Thyra had far more power than previously considered, suggesting what we thought was fact might’ve been factoid ☞Factoid is a piece of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact.
. In reality, we don’t know much with certainty about Gorm. Eleventh-century historian Adam of Bremen suggests he was a ‘Stranger King’ from Norway or Normandy. The late twelfth-century historians Sven Aggesen and Saxo Grammaticus have described Gorm’s as weak and lazy, whereas the Norwegian sagas believe him to be a talented warrior (Imer). The main source of documentation we have from their time are 250 runestones, and don’t get me wrong; there are many but not a whole bible worth of rocks – but the text sure is set in stone.

Figure 4; Thyra,) Harold Bluetooths and Gorm the Olds rune stones. 22 Aug. 2013. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 29 Feb. 2014.

The article published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications LTD., is based on deep analysis of runestones, by utilizing 3D scanning to study carving patterns through rhythm, combined with geographical distribution, orthography and language usage. “The mentioning of Thyra on no fewer than four runestones is unparalleled in Viking-Age Denmark. In comparison, it is remarkable that Gorm is named on only a single stone – and there accompanied by Thyra. Not even her famous son, Harald Bluetooth, is mentioned on that many stones.” (Ibid). To my understanding the objective has been to establish a greater likelihood that the Thyra mentioned on four runestones was indeed the same and not two different women. It makes me wonder why it has been so hard to accept the conspiracy of it being the same woman in the first place. There is great uncertainty about the persona of Gorm, so why has it seemed so distant to hypothesize Thyra as a woman with great power? Hypothetical answer: the patriarchy. It seems very plausible that women of power have been disregarded and written out of our history to allow for the continuation of the hero narrative.

I believe it is about the discourse of what we choose to accept, and if we choose to accept the runestones as “granite manifestation of status, lineage and power, we may suggest that Thyra was indeed of royal, Jutlandic descent.” (Ibid). This discovery has allowed for reconsideration of the role of the elite Viking women who possibly held significant political power. Lisbeth M. Imer, researcher and author with a specialism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance says; "we shouldn't rule out the possibility of women being able to hold power in their own right.". Having women of the elite have the ability to own land is nothing new in Western Europe, however now Denmark can be added to the list and the collective history of the country needs to be rewritten. A speck of hope? We ‘know’ Gorm was said to be a stranger King, and this only fuels the hypothesis of Thyra being a powerful woman, a potential owner of large land mass. Could it in fact be their joint forces which put Gorm in the position of becoming King? We can only hypothesize, however given how much is based on hypothesis and here say, this is groundbreaking in terms of the women’s influence, which has never been considered or taken seriously.

Something which persists today is the idea that to sit on a solid fortune you rely on a workforce, introducing feudalism ☞Feudalism was the system where people were given land and protection by people of higher rank, and as payment, they worked and fought for them.
, serfdom ☞Serfdom is different compared to slavery, serfs were not traded and sold like property the way slaves were. Serfs were however legally bound to the land they worked on, and only if the land was traded amongst lords/owners did the serfs shift owner/employer.
and Dane Lagu aka the Danelaw. From around the year 800, the Vikings were raiding the coastlines of Britain and Ireland, with the intention of conquering the four Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England. Being successful and conquering great areas of land, the ruling law became the Danelaw, whether what I am about to tell you was Anglo-Saxon law before or after the Danelaw, I am uncertain of, however, it is referred to as the Anglo-Saxon law and it allowed for women serfs to rule “their own” land (Federici). This does not mean men and women were seen as equals, the owner/employer/lord of the land had the authority to control the women serfs’ lives, in terms of work and marriage (Ibid). Gatherers but domesticated.

Figure 5; Moe, Louis M. Thyra Grundlægger Dannevirke – Thyra Establishes the Danevirke. Colour lithograph on paper, glued on cardboard, 1898, Published in 1898, documented in V.E. Clausen: Folkelig grafik i Skandinavien, 1973, page 144.

It is remarkable that Denmark’s existence and big political moves could very well be due to two women. If we choose to accept the new findings as our narrative and discourse it means Queen Thyra played a much greater role of in the unification of kingdoms of Denmark than we thought.

We now claim space for women to be written into our collective history at a time filled with savages, looting, killing and the thriving narrative of the hero. This rewrite of history does not mean the narrative of the gatherers does not remain for the common folk, after all the spirits and the enchanted forest were still there. Let me hypothesize; to compete with the elite domination of the hero, the Mother has had to hide – disregard the narrative of the gatherer and the longing for the enchanted forest. They have had to put themselves in a position of authority, and if authority is man, then how do we rewrite the narrative so strongly imposed for the position of the women? She is furious. Furious in silence. By your side but you don’t see her. The elite woman has had to claim space, already in a position of authority, allowing protection compared to the common woman – this does not by any means mean it was easy. Besides from the authority of the Mother (or more so marriage (so the authority of the man), because who dared to give birth without a husband?!), how does one tackle the authority of the hero? Speaking up. Being a woman with a voice often – even to this day – lands you in the stereotype of loud, obnoxious and irritating, yet somehow it seems that we have made no archetype for ‘that’ type of person. But ‘we’ sure have found a word we like to use: Hysterical. Let the brewing begin.

Thought 4

Hysteria and witchcraft Thought 4: Hysteria and witchcraft

Hysteria has a loaded history, worthy a whole thesis, and has been used as a tool to control women’s behavior and bodies, causing countless misdiagnoses and violet mishandling of trauma throughout our time. The Danish vocabulary even has a word for the so-called ‘hysterical woman’: Hystade, which to this day is used derogatorily towards women. Hysteria comes from the Greek Hysteria which means womb. Originally it was defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunctional uterus (“Hysteria | Etymology of Hysteria by Etymonline.”). Individuals with wombs have different hormonal cycles compared to individuals without wombs, to be more precise; an individual with a womb’s cycle is about 28 days, whereas an individual without a womb? 24 hours (Verhofstede). Let me paint you a picture, it might not be fully scientifically true, however this is where my logic brings me; if being moody and irritable is only a percentage of the cycle, that means womb carriers have mood swings which can last a couple of days, where for the none-womb carriers it might just be a hot minute, and we move on. No wonder men didn’t know what was going on, there were very few womb-carriers voices being heard, so to diagnose women with the ‘issue’ of literally being a woman, probably seemed very legitimate from their perspective.

An era which has been marked as the era of mass hysteria in Europe is the end of the 16^th century – the witch hunts. The hunt of the few wild-spirited women. Denmark was no exception. This is one of the many pivotal moments for women. As a society which has survived based on gatherers and harvesters, the patriarchy found a way of scaring women out of the enchanted forest. In 1917, King Christian the 4^th prohibited all types of practice of magic, both black and white magic – good and evil – by deeming practicing a crime, and all Danes had the responsibility to raise trials (God). Silence. Based on the remaining documentation, around 1,000 people were killed under conspiracy, and I believe along with them died the thousands of years of gathering knowledge which had been passed down through generations. A silent discomfort. An educated woman of her time might have had great knowledge about harvesting and gathering, and I would not be surprised if those were the exact women who were first in line for the witch trials.

Figure 6; Dore, Gustav. Illustration of Ludovico Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso”. Engraving, 1832-1883.

This hunt is gruesome in so many ways which can never be fully comprehendible, and yet as we speak about it, we forget to address the years it put women back in society. I believe it is in this time of history in the West, where it becomes far beyond reasonable doubt to hypothesize that the oppression of women and the domination of the forest is due to the patriarchy. Let me explain; the fear of setting foot in the forest, harvesting items of potential suspicion, and being a little ‘too’ independent could immediately get you burnt at the stake. Women were bound to the walls of the ones lucky enough to have a roof over their heads, in fear for their life, and if this does not fall in under the definition of domesticated, I simply do not know what does. I would argue this fear is still in us, as a type of ancestral trauma (Santos). And the forest you might ask? Without women telling the fairytales, sharing years of knowledge as gatherers through time of the enchanted forests, it was left in the hands of the hunters. The gatherers narrative was pushed out of our collective story by the hero’s narrative. What once was the enchanted forest became the forest of wilderness, with animals either to be killed or domesticated. Either way, the forest was now in the hands of mankind (read; man). The few that did wander out into the forest most likely made sure to never mention the power of the herbs around them too loudly every again. The last enchanted traces. Kept locked in the memories of few.

Thought 5 Thought 5: The wild woman and a nationwide wolf hunt

The wild woman and a nationwide wolf hunt

As a revival of the archetypes, the wild woman was introduced by Clarissa Pinkola Estés in 1992 in her book Women who run with the wolves. The wild woman has untangled herself from the norms imposed by the patriarchy and relearnt to embody her true instincts and intuition. She is a powerful source; creative, spontaneous, courageous, sensual, unapologetic, untamed ☞Untamed means not domesticated or otherwise controlled.
and with a deep connection to nature. The independent fairytale-like women society has deemed as mythical creatures. The woman we have been taught to be afraid of. Be careful! She might swallow you whole. She is the woman who has escaped domestication. I choose the word ‘revival’ because I believe this archetype of women has been around and we have been suppressing them through generations. Open the cage. Let her out.

Estés draws parallels between the wild woman and wolves through myths and storytelling, arguing we share similar autonomy. “They are experiences in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave. Yet both have been hounded, harassed and falsely imputed to be devouring and devious, overly aggressive, or less value than those who are their detractors. They have been targeted of those who would clean up the wilds as well as the wildish environs of the psyche, extincting the instinctual, leaving no trace of it behind.” (Estés, 2).

Ironically enough the “last” wolf to roam the Danish forests dates back to 1824, and with the last wolf passing we had eliminated the only true wild thread on the Danish land, besides from falling trees and our fellow humans (“Wolves Return To Denmark.”). After 1625 which marks the ‘official’ end to the witch trials in Denmark, the forest was a wild place for a while. A hunting ground. It wasn’t long till the ‘need’ for taming the forest became the goal of the hunters, and with the wolf as the only larger threat to society it became the target. After the forced extinction of the wolf, the only threats were the occasional fox stealing chickens and one poisonous snake. We put mankind (read; man) at the top of the rank and empowered the image of the hunters. The hero narrative once again - fueled. If there is no direct threat from nature, we lack respect especially because we have become too detached. It isn’t until we are faced with fear we tread carefully.

The wolf is now returning to Denmark. After 199 years, in 2013 the first wolf was sighted, and in 2017 the first pack was established by a female wolf which wandered over the border from Germany (Ibid). Now, approximately 80 wolves are roaming the forests of Denmark. I believe we should let this be a sign of the returning wild woman within us. Let’s embrace the autonomy of decision making. Dig her out. It’s about time we run over the border within our minds and change the narrative that so desperately needs to be rewritten. Relearn to trust our intuition and instincts as women in a society where we for generations have been told to do the opposite. There is a danger in acknowledging dualism between women’s oppression and the domination of nature (Plumwood), because by neglecting the decadency and on nature, one also neglects the narrative of the gatherers, witches and wild women within us. As humans we seek patterns, understanding and recognition within others. We seek a pack, a human instinct we have not fully neglected yet. We are pack animals that seek comfort, an escape from the fear of loneliness, and for a better chance of survival, but can a lone wolf thrive? No, but it can survive well on its own until it finds the right pack.

Concluding thoughts

Tying my thoughts together

Is there a way in which we can learn to lose the connection between womanhood and hysteria? Can we turn our Collective Unconscious, conscious and acknowledge the lack of understanding and recognition of women? Can we introduce new archetypes which have yet to be accepted into our conscious and blend into the unconscious? Can we gain a deep understanding of who we are as women outside the patriarchy whilst still living in it? You don’t have to go roll in dirt, heck you don’t have to hug a tree, but have you tried? A lil tree huggin’ never hurt nobody. Seek comfort from the collective of womanhood, find your pack of people. There are ways in which we can find comfort and reconnect with our inner selves. What exactly this means for you I cannot say, it is something bigger than either of us. I believe truly only you can be the judge of what this means to you, whether you are the carrier of a womb or not.

The discourse of how we have understood the position of women through time has to change. We must understand the importance of how storytelling has shaped our history, and how the narratives of women have been twisted into silence. The narrative of the gatherers was taken over by the hero, the enchanted forest’s spirits, Goddesses and Gods were replaced with the story of Eve and Adam and the need of salvation, our rich knowledge of the forest vastly disappeared during the witch hunts, and we are now at a point of attempting to revive the archetypes through storytelling to change the trajectory of our collective narrative.

If we are to enter into conversation about nature criticism, the lack of acknowledgment between the ties of womanhood and nature has to be brought out from the deep dark area of neglect and into the light. It is a matter of allowing space for a new way of thinking and hypothesizing about how we behave as humans. A way of thinking which is not gendered, whilst still acknowledging biological differences, one which allows both the masculine and the feminine to be a part. It will have to do with a cultural shift of reclaiming meaning and challenging commonly accepted definitions and facts. Language is ever evolving so shouldn’t our narrative be as well? Can we find a way of disconnecting the masculine with the male and the feminine with female, loose the derogatory quotations attached, or are we beyond the point of no return in more than one way? Can we create new groundwork for collective healing?

The goal is to move towards a normalization of autonomy in choice of behavior without the fear of judgement and neglect. Disregarding the derogatory gender norms and break way with the harsh shell of protection which we seek cover within. To move towards an understanding of the narrative of the gatherers, we need a seriously good paradigm-shift (if not multiple) in order to move above the archetypes which currently brew in our collective un/conscious. Afterall, it turns out my thoughts are not as entangled as anticipated. Who is she? I don’t know, you will have to see for yourself.

Acknowledgements

I’m grateful for all the people who have supported me through this process of writing, questioning, and reflecting. Mom, thank you for you. Dad, thank you, and for never losing touch with nature. Thank you to the two of you for always encouraging my thoughts and questions. Abbie, thank you for making sure my thoughts made sense when I was blinded by my own words. Dirk Vis, thank you for your guidance, and encouragement. Last but not least, thank you to my thesis group; Elisa de la Serna Gallego, Jade Akkerman, Stefa(niia) Bodnia and Balázs Milánik, your feedback through this process has been extremely helpful.

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