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The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland
Using Ireland as a case study, this book provides an account of the decline of matriarchal power in Western civilizations and analyzes its implications for today's women and today's Catholic Church. From the age of Eve to the age of Brigit to the age of Mary, the author traces the rise of patriarchial consciousness. Mary Condren is a former editor of Student Christian Movement Publications and the author of articles on men written for feminist liberation theory. The author has taught in the Women in Religion Program at Harvard University.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 3, 2019
I got this book to read more about how Christianity incorporated Pagan holidays and beliefs in order to convert the locals. I learned all about that and more. I didn't count on the feminist aspect of this book. If you did not consider yourself a card-carrying feminist before, you may consider it after reading Condren's research on the evolution of the role of women in Irish society. It was a fascinating read, considering I am of Irish Catholic descent. The roles of St. Brigit/Brighid and Mary are discussed fully, as well as differences in the roles of women in both the Pagan tradition and the Christian traditions. This book will make you angry. It will make you want to dog-ear, highlight, and underline all the "Ah-ha" moments. You will become a different person by the end, trust and believe.
March 1, 2021
This book was such good brain food. Condren's writing is clear and easy to follow, but there is so much information to chew on. I took my time with it so I could properly digest and process all of it. Condren put in the academic work to support her thesis on the historical role of Christianity in eroding feminine rights in Ireland. While there may be several parallels in other cultural and national contexts, limiting her focus to Ireland kept her arguments strong and grounded, which was especially helpful as a reader. Her discussion of gender is not as fluid as current discourse, but I think she frames most of her arguments broadly enough for them to pertain to anyone who does not identify as a man as dictated by the political machine of Christianity. There is so much fodder for discussion, particularly in conversations regarding power, gender, and political history. Highly recommended read to those interested in such topics.
July 24, 2008
read as part of the curiculum for the irish studies program at evergreen
November 15, 2017
An incredible book on the origins of Christianity in Ireland and equally of the violent patriarchal society we find ourselves in. Worth a read to anyone interested in feminism, theology or Irish history. Cannot stress its importance enough.
July 2, 2017
It is great, working in a library, because sometimes you just come across a book that otherwise you never would even have seen. This one, The Serpent and the Goddess went out as a request, and the day it came back in I had just finished a book and was looking for something on my lunch break. So I picked this one up, figuring that if it wasn’t for me I could easily put it back. But I kept on reading and so decided I’d have to check it out and finish reading.
Starting in prehistoric Ireland this book looks at the role of women in society and how religion changed society and at the same time took away women’s power and rights. The author also looks at other cultures from time to time, she brings up on the Jewish religion changed from a tribal one to a centralised organised religion and state, similar to Ireland’s changes over the centuries.
And it makes for a fascinating, if depressing read.
Depressing because it really does seem as though every right women had in societies, every ounce of power, was slowly stripped from them and placed in the hands of men. And once they had that power they were never going to give it back without a fight.
I’m not sure that I buy everything that Condren argues for, she makes it all sound so calculated. As though priests got together and said, “how can we have more power and say in the world… I know, by taking it from women, so lets rule that they are the root of evil and so cannot be trusted”. But certainly that reading of history can be made. Maybe it didn’t start out as anti-women, but the best way to keep power for yourself to to create an “other” and say they want power, but they are evil and will corrupt everyone else, so best if we few chosen men keep the power.
It is well worth a read, even if you aren’t that interested in Irish history itself, as the rise of Catholicism/Christianity here mirrors what happened in other locations, and even if the details aren’t necessarily the same the overarching theme is.
Supposedly this book was huge when it was first published, I’d never heard of it before, but it was republished at least once, and considering people are still requesting it, it must still be getting coverage. It is well written and easy to read, but doesn’t dumb things down. Well worth taking the time to read it.
Some of the quotes I found interesting are collected here : http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/t...
Starting in prehistoric Ireland this book looks at the role of women in society and how religion changed society and at the same time took away women’s power and rights. The author also looks at other cultures from time to time, she brings up on the Jewish religion changed from a tribal one to a centralised organised religion and state, similar to Ireland’s changes over the centuries.
And it makes for a fascinating, if depressing read.
Depressing because it really does seem as though every right women had in societies, every ounce of power, was slowly stripped from them and placed in the hands of men. And once they had that power they were never going to give it back without a fight.
I’m not sure that I buy everything that Condren argues for, she makes it all sound so calculated. As though priests got together and said, “how can we have more power and say in the world… I know, by taking it from women, so lets rule that they are the root of evil and so cannot be trusted”. But certainly that reading of history can be made. Maybe it didn’t start out as anti-women, but the best way to keep power for yourself to to create an “other” and say they want power, but they are evil and will corrupt everyone else, so best if we few chosen men keep the power.
It is well worth a read, even if you aren’t that interested in Irish history itself, as the rise of Catholicism/Christianity here mirrors what happened in other locations, and even if the details aren’t necessarily the same the overarching theme is.
Supposedly this book was huge when it was first published, I’d never heard of it before, but it was republished at least once, and considering people are still requesting it, it must still be getting coverage. It is well written and easy to read, but doesn’t dumb things down. Well worth taking the time to read it.
Some of the quotes I found interesting are collected here : http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/t...
October 5, 2023
Came across this book while studying Youth & Community Work at University College Cork and it opened my eyes to how things were before the colonialisation of Britian and the Theocratic State that subverted Ireland and Irish women's rights and value in society. Reading this has catapulted my interests in women (St. Brigid) long forgotten Irish History, particularily the Martriarchies which dominated in communities and tribes. Opening my eyes to the fact that the world has not been all 'the patriarchy' and there are times in history where women held power and their voices were heard - makes me excited and hopeful about a future in which humans can work together, men and womens perspectives valued and respected as necessary for us to see the world around us, in its broadest capacity and the most holistically.
Also, such a golden find - why aren't the feminists that I hear from talking about this!
Also, such a golden find - why aren't the feminists that I hear from talking about this!
October 4, 2020
Well thought out critique of Christian patriarchal consciousness.
May 8, 2024
It gives an insight into how the patriarchal society was formed throughout the past millennium
April 9, 2018
The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland (Paperback)
by Mary Condren
Highly end-noted.
by Mary Condren
Highly end-noted.
May 27, 2017
This is a radical feminist study, ostensibly of Irish folklore and religious history, but in fact Ireland plays a fairly small role in the overall plan of the book. The author has bigger fish to fry, so to speak, in that she wishes to indict pretty much all of modern culture, especially the geopolitical realm, for its embodiment of what she calls "male reproductive consciousness", which is akin at least to what other radical feminists call "patriarchy". Condren's concept though seems to run a little deeper in that it not only charts exclusionary power practices and their effects on women, but looks closely at the underlying assumptions and strategies for valuing and devaluing. Her basic thesis is that for many centuries human civilization has been on a death trip, excluding the power and value of the feminine, birth (in the biological sense), life cycles, nature, in favor of the masculine, sacrifice of life, death and the willingness to die, the supernatural. Her contention is that the development of the nuclear bomb and the specter of global annihilation is but the logical outcome of a move that was initiated many centuries ago. Her point is not that male reproductive consciousness is intrinsically bad, but that it combined with the exclusion and repudiation of all that has traditionally and historically been associated with women, with birth and feeding, with the affirmation of the cyclical and traditional over the progressive and novel, has resulted in which the fixation on death, violence, war, and destruction is inevitable and irresistible. Sadly, she offers little in the way of hope or a counter-consciousness in this volume, but happily that work has been done by ecofeminists and feminist theologians (yes, I know some would object to the first "o" in that spelling) in large number since this book was published almost 20 years ago. Looking around today however, it does seem the pessimism of this book may after all be warranted.
August 1, 2009
An excellent feminist analysis of religion centering on Irish Christianity as the backdrop to a more in depth analysis of the patriarchal mind. She delves into the reasons women accepted the church as a compromise to get away from the warrior ethic of men. The church betrayed them as their goal was political and economic. She discuss Brigit who was an ancient goddess and how she was appropriated by the church seemingly by her own wish. Condron details the mindset of religion and why they were so opposed to the Goddess honouring that was based on kinship and love of life instead of a universal god of vengeance and hatred of women.
June 29, 2013
Great book, would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to gain a broader perspective in how the Goddess is worshiped within Celtic Ireland. How Mary, Brigid and the others took over for their current Goddess. Very well written.
March 23, 2015
I have an interest in woman's history, Ireland's history, and religion/ mythology. Therefore, this is the perfect book. It is one of my favorites, at the top of my bookshelf. Glad I picked it up and gave it a read.
February 23, 2013
Really fascinating. A very thorough, historical critique of the church that made me think about it in new ways (and I was already thinking quite critically about the church).
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews