The Catholic Book Club discussion

6. This book brings up two different concepts of the woman:
a) The eternal woman, or the eternal feminine
b) The woman in the world, the concept of the woman in our society
The first concept can be considered eternal.
The second concept is outdated, for in the 90 years since the book was published, the concept of the woman in our society has changed.

Do you agree with this analysis?

M wrote: "It doesn't matter what the concept is of women in society, what matters is the concept of women from a Catholic and Biblical perspective. Scripture and the Catholic Church have never downplayed or ..."

You are right, that's what matters. But von le Fort dedicates several pages to explain that for society women who are not married and never become mothers are downplayed, and sometimes get embittered. I think this is no longer true. Today, many women don't want to marry and don't want to be mothers.

Another point where this book is outdated is in von le Fort's insistence that society is (was, during her time) "crying for the child" and "crying for the mother." If that was then true (I'm not sure that it was so in the nineteen twenties), it's no longer true. Society has been, for fifty years, crying for the killing of the child (abortion) and crying against motherliness.

Today more than ever her proclamation that there is a given, fundamental difference between men and women is needed!

I don't think this book is outdated at all. So many truths here, and truth is timeless. An example: If the sign of the woman is "Be it done unto me", which means the readiness to conceive or, when expressed religiously, the will to be blessed, then there is always misery when the woman no longer wills to conceive, no longer desires to be blessed. Would that our young read and heed that today! A message badly needed.

On the surface I agree that many women today want to be childless, but this desire signifies a deeper wound, as evidenced by those who regret their abortions, or those who, in the absence of real children to nurture, turn instead to lifelike dolls, treating them like actual infants. There is a deep desire for motherhood that for many women and for many reasons go unfulfilled, hence the anger and misery that go with loneliness and the rejection of what woman is called to be.

Stef wrote: "I don't think this book is outdated at all. So many truths here, and truth is timeless. An example: If the sign of the woman is "Be it done unto me", which means the readiness to conceive or, when ..."

Stef, I agree with this and your other comment in this thread.

For some reason I no longer receive email notifications for our Book Club, so I have to remember to check (which I don't always do).

I am enjoying this book and am challenged by it in a good way. As a former lawyer -- I married 20 years ago at age 36 and became a stay-at-home wife and mother then -- it's always been a challenge to have a feminine spirit -- receptive, willing to be led, nurturing.