A woman in midlife may experience herself as depleted and emptied out, feeling impoverished monetarily, emotionally or spiritually. She is starving and envious of the liveliness in others. A murderous rage may overcome her that can squeeze the life out of her own generativity.  In Hansel and Gretel:

"There was never much to eat in the house, and once, in time of famine, there wasn't even enough bread to go around." The wife suggested that they lose their two children in the woods. When the woodcutter protested his wife said "You fool!....Then all four of us will starve." (All references to Hansel and Gretel are from  Grimms' Tales for Young and Old. Translated by Ralph Manheim. New York: Anchor Press/ Doubleday. 1977.  Translated from the Winkler-Verlag (Munich) edition of the Complete Kinder-und and Hausmarchen (Tales for Young and Old) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, first published in 1819. pp.56-62)

This contributes to the development of the imago of the cannibal witch that lives in fairy tales like Snow White:

When the queen's mirror declared that Snow White was fairer than the queen, "Envy and pride grew like weeds in her heart, until she knew no peace by day or by night. Finally she sent for a huntsman and said: 'Get that child out of my sight. Take her into the forest and kill her and bring me her lungs and her liver to prove you've done it.'" But the huntsman brought the queen the lungs and liver of a boar instead. "The cook was ordered to salt and stew them, and the godless woman ate them, thinking she was eating Snow White's lungs and liver."
 
 

Jacqueline Schectman states: "The queen is not content to merely kill the beautiful usurper; she wants to ingest her strength and vitality, her courage her spirited lightness.  The lungs and liver, stewed in salt, are to be a massive dose of Vitamin E, a preserved and preserving elixir of youth. For the Queen, this cannibalism is, in a sense, a religious act: to partake of Snow White is to be in communion with the Divine Child, to be one with perfect, untouched beauty. "  (p.33)
 
 

Sally hit a chord in me. I felt depleted by her anger and would find my mind wandering. I thought about my own life and whether I was sucking off my clients rather than "getting a life" of my own. Did I need to cut back my hours? Take a week off? Maybe I couldn't help Sally and should recommend group therapy. I felt helpless and angry sitting with Sally.
 
 

Sally was at a low point in our work. In fact she had a lot going in her life. She had two children in their twenties living at home. She worked more than she wanted as a real estate saleswoman. Her husband Philip was 7 years older than her and ran a successful law practice 50+ hours a week.  But Sally was desperately craving some time to daydream and putter around the house in her chenille robe. She was still taking care of everyone more than she wanted. She felt exhausted and irritable. Previously she had spared me any of her direct anger. Now we could work on her ambivalence towards her mother as it arose between us.
 

The cannibal witch craves human flesh, especially a young child's flesh, to feed and fatten herself. She projects hate and fear onto others whom she perceives as infantile and greedy, gobbling up all the goodness that is so scarce and unavailable to her. In Hansel and Gretel the starving feminine in the form of the woodcutter's "wife" becomes even darker as the children wander deeper into the woods of the unconscious:
 
 

On the third day of being lost in the woods, Hansel and Gretel came upon a little house. "...they saw that the house was made of bread, and the roof was made of cake and the windows of sparkling sugar. 'Let's eat,' said Hansel....Hansel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof to see how it tasted, and Gretel pressed against the windowpanes and nibbled at them. And then  a soft voice called from inside:

 

'Nibble nibble, little mouse,
Who's that nibbling at my house?'

The children answered:

'The wind so wild,
The heavenly child,'

and Hansel and Gretel went right on eating."

 An old woman came out. "Actually she was a wicked witch, who waylaid children and had built her house out of bread to entice them. She killed, cooked, and ate any child who fell into her hands, and that to her was a feast day." She gave Hansel the best food. "When he's good and fat, I'm going to eat him."

Here the all-giving, sacrificing mother of the past has become the greedy, life-draining witch. "The wind so wild, the heavenly child" may refer to the wish to recover the lost spiritual aliveness and creativity that a woman in midlife feels cut off from and wishes to incorporate. She needs inspiration and perspective.
 

Cynthia, age 83,  complained about her older son, Aaron.  "I sacrificed so much for him.  I never went out, we never had a vacation, so that he could have the best.  Even though he had no talent or interest, we paid for piano lessons for him for 10 years.  I gave him my whole life.  And how does he repay me?  He moves to the East coast, and marries that bitch.  I call her Patty to get her goat, because she sounds stuck up when she says. "Please call me Patricia'.  And she was divorced with two children.  So even though Aaron says he loves them, I know that he must hate it.   He deprived me of blood grandchildren, that's what he did." Cynthia now stopped to take a breath.

About a thousand objections to what Cynthia was saying came to my lips and died before being uttered (thank goodness!), the first one being to reflect back to her how she disliked it when someone called her 'Cindy'.
I was finding it hard to sit with Cynthia and stay neutral.

She felt that she had sacrificed for Aaron, that now it was his turn to give to her.  But her tone and entitlement was making it difficult for me to find any empathy for her.

 

A few weeks later Cynthia came in very excited.  Her younger son, Kurt, had moved back to Cynthia's home.  "He said he was coming to help me!  Already he is paying the bills for me, because it is so hard for me to write.  I do all the cooking and cleaning, of course, but he is helping with the house and the money stuff.  Maybe I won't have to go to assisted living after all!"

I had never seen Cynthia so excited.  I asked her a to tell me more about him, as I had heard very little about Kurt.   She told me that Kurt was in his late 40's.  He had never married nor settled into a career, and had a series of jobs.  He was returning home not only to 'help' his mother, but because rents had gotten too high in the city where he was living.

I was so pleased for Cynthia, and really hoped that it would work out. My heart went out to her, living for so many years in pain and isolation. Perhaps with her son to help her, she would be freed to pursue the creative side that had gotten so derailed by her arthritis.

Women who are struggling with the cannibal witch imago may present clinically in a variety of ways. Sometimes the appetite of the witch for young juicy children manifests in women with "baby hunger" (a late-in-life need to have a baby). One task  of the therapy may be to differentiate whether the urge is real or symbolic.

Gabriela was examining her past decision not to have a child, and was full of remorse.  While her head clearly felt that she had made the right decision, she was conflicted at the deeper levels of her psyche.  Midlife often is a time for reflection and recapitulation, as past decisions are reevaluated from a new perspective.  The issue of abortion can be especially troubling to women, because a choice made at one stage of life can be seen differently at a later stage.  So Gabriela, as a bride at age 38,  realized her new marriage would be overly stressed by the inclusion of a child unwanted by the father.   Now, at 45, she would see seven year old children in the street and have a glimmer of how her life would be different.  This is not a political or religious issue for many women at midlife, but rather a contemplation of 'the path not taken'.

It was at times painful to sit with Gabriela as she did her work around the issue of abortion.  As with other issues that can carry a charge, I was especially conscious to keep my own countertransference tightly held.
 
 

This hunger for a baby was explored in Gaby's dreams and waking life over several months.  Then she began to dream of babies that could walk and talk at birth. This could be viewed as the archetype of the Divine Child, an inner psychic event. Gabriela's young, magical self haunted her and wanted to be born.  She began to dance again and became less frantic. "I haven't closed the door yet on trying to conceive, I just don't feel pressured all the time. I guess I will just know when I know."

 

A woman at midlife may resent her adolescent and young adult children who are embarking on their sexual, creative and spiritual journeys and desiring independence while needing a seemingly endless source of supplies.

The witch tried to get Gretel to crawl into the oven "which by now was spitting flames." Gretel pretended not to know how. So the witch "crept to the opening and stuck her head in, whereupon Gretel gave her a push that sent her sprawling....Eek! How horrible she screeched! But Gretel ran away and the wicked witch burned miserably to death."

Was I becoming the witch too?

After Louise left the session, I thought about how trapped she must be feeling. Taking care of a child with special needs like Freddy is extremely difficult under any circumstances. I could hardly  imagine what it must be like at age 64, while working full time, having only a limited income. I wondered if Louise was codependent, and imagined that in her life she had many times made the statement,  "It's not about me that I am here..."
 
 

While she resisted support groups, I wondered if Louise knew how many grandparents are raising their grandchildren.
 
 

For more information on Grandparents raising grandchildren, please go to                 http://www.aarp.org/confacts/programs/grandraising.html)
 

I also had wondered if Sally would respond to medication but she had been adamant about working her depression through on her own. Many women find that antidepressants can help them as they navigate the shoals of perimenopause and menopause.

Medications
There are several types of antidepressant medications used to treat depressive
disorders. These include newer medications-chiefly the selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)-the tricyclics, and the monoamine oxidase inhibitors
(MAOIs). The SSRIs-and other newer medications that affect
neurotransmitters such as dopamine or norepinephrine-generally have fewer
side effects than tricyclics. Sometimes the doctor will try a variety of
antidepressants before finding the most effective medication or combination of
medications. Sometimes the dosage must be increased to be effective.
Although some improvements may be seen in the first few weeks,
antidepressant medications must be taken regularly for 3 to 4 weeks (in some
cases, as many as 8 weeks) before the full therapeutic effect occurs.

Patients often are tempted to stop medication too soon. They may feel better
and think they no longer need the medication. Or they may think the
medication isn't helping at all. It is important to keep taking medication until it
has a chance to work, though side effects (see section on Side Effects, page
13) may appear before antidepressant activity does. Once the individual is
feeling better, it is important to continue the medication for 4 to 9 months to
prevent a recurrence of the depression. Some medications must be stopped
gradually to give the body time to adjust, and many can produce withdrawal
symptoms if discontinued abruptly. For individuals with bipolar disorder and
those with chronic or recurrent major depression, medication may have to be
maintained indefinitely.

Antidepressant drugs are not habit-forming. However, as is the case with any
type of medication prescribed for more than a few days, antidepressants have
to be carefully monitored to see if the correct dosage is being given. The doctor
will check the dosage and its effectiveness regularly.
For the small number of people for whom MAO inhibitors are the best treatment,
it is necessary to avoid certain foods that contain high levels of tyramine,
such as many cheeses, wines, and pickles, as well as medications such as
decongestants. The interaction of tyramine with MAOIs can bring on a
hypertensive crisis, a sharp increase in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke.
The doctor should furnish a complete list of prohibited foods that the
patient should carry at all times. Other forms of antidepressants require no food
restrictions.

Medications of any kind - prescribed, over-the counter, or borrowed - should
never be mixed without consulting the doctor. Other health professionals
who may prescribe a drug-such as a dentist or other medical specialist-should
be told of the medications the patient is taking. Some drugs, although safe
when taken alone can, if taken with others, cause severe and dangerous side
effects. Some drugs, like alcohol or street drugs, may reduce the effectiveness
of antidepressants and should be avoided. This includes wine, beer, and hard
liquor. Some people who have not had a problem with alcohol use may be
permitted by their doctor to use a modest amount of alcohol while taking one of
the newer antidepressants.

Antianxiety drugs or sedatives are not antidepressants. They are sometimes
prescribed along with antidepressants; however, they are not effective when
taken alone for a depressive disorder. Stimulants, such as amphetamines, are
not effective antidepressants, but they are used occasionally under close
supervision in medically ill depressed patients.

Questions about any antidepressant prescribed, or problems that may be
related to the medication, should be discussed with the doctor.
Lithium has for many years been the treatment of choice for bipolar disorder, as
it can be effective in smoothing out the mood swings common to this
disorder. Its use must be carefully monitored, as the range between an effective
dose and a toxic one is small. If a person has preexisting thyroid, kidney, or
heart disorders or epilepsy, lithium may not be recommended. Fortunately,
other medications have been found to be of benefit in controlling mood swings.
Among these are two mood-stabilizing anticonvulsants, carbamazepine
(Tegretol®) and valproate (Depakote®). Both of these medications have gained
wide acceptance in clinical practice, and valproate has been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration for first-line treatment of acute mania. Other
anticonvulsants that are being used now include lamotrigine (Lamictal®) and
gabapentin (Neurontin®): their role in the treatment hierarchy of bipolar
disorder remains under study.

Most people who have bipolar disorder take more than one medication
including, along with lithium and/or an anticonvulsant, a medication for
accompanying agitation, anxiety, depression, or insomnia. Finding the best
possible combination of these medications is of utmost importance to the
patient and requires close monitoring by the physician.

Side Effects
Antidepressants may cause mild and, usually, temporary side effects
(sometimes referred to as adverse effects) in some people. Typically these are
annoying, but not serious. However, any unusual reactions or side effects or
those that interfere with functioning should be reported to the doctor
immediately. The most common side effects of tricyclic antidepressants, and
ways to deal with them, are:
Dry mouth ? it is helpful to drink sips of water; chew sugarless gum;
clean teeth daily.
Constipation ? bran cereals, prunes, fruit, and vegetables should be in
the diet.
Bladder problems ? emptying the bladder may be trouble-some, and the
urine stream may not be as strong as usual; the doctor should be notified
if there is marked difficulty or pain.
Sexual problems ? sexual functioning may change; if worrisome, it
should be discussed with the doctor.
Blurred vision ? this will pass soon and will not usually necessitate new
glasses.
Dizziness ? rising from the bed or chair slowly is helpful.
Drowsiness as a daytime problem ? this usually passes soon. A person
feeling drowsy or sedated should not drive or operate heavy equipment.
The more sedating antidepressants are generally taken at bedtime to
help sleep and minimize daytime drowsiness.
The newer antidepressants have different types of side effects:
Headache ? this will usually go away.
Nausea ? this is also temporary, but even when it occurs, it is transient
after each dose.
Nervousness and insomnia (trouble falling asleep or waking often during
the night) ? these may occur during the first few weeks; dosage
reductions or time will usually resolve them.
Agitation (feeling jittery) ? if this happens for the first time after the drug
is taken and is more than transient, the doctor should be notified.
Sexual problems ? the doctor should be consulted if the problem is
persistent or worrisome.

Herbal Therapy
In the past few years, much interest has risen in the use of herbs in the
treatment of both depression and anxiety. St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum),
an herb used extensively in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in
Europe, has recently aroused interest in the United States. St. John's wort, an
attractive bushy, low-growing plant covered with yellow flowers in summer, has
been used for centuries in many folk and herbal remedies. Today in
Germany, Hypericum is used in the treatment of depression more than any
other antidepressant. However, the scientific studies that have been conducted
on its use have been short-term and have used several different doses.
Because of the widespread interest in St. John's wort, the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) is conducting a 3-year study, sponsored by three NIH
components-the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Office of Dietary
Supplements. The study is designed to include 336 patients with major
depression, randomly assigned to an 8-week trial with one-third of patients
receiving a uniform dose of St. John's wort, another third a selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor commonly prescribed for depression, and the final third a placebo (a
pill that looks exactly like the SSRI and the St. John's wort, but has no active
ingredients). The study participants who respond positively will be followed for
an additional 18 weeks. After the 3-year study has been completed, results will
be analyzed and published.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory on February
10, 2000. It stated that St. John's wort appears to affect an important
metabolic pathway that is used by many drugs prescribed to treat conditions
such as heart disease, depression, seizures, certain cancers, and rejection of
transplants. Therefore, health care providers should alert their patients about
these potential drug interactions. Any herbal supplement should be taken only
after consultation with the doctor or other health care provider.
Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm

In addition to the use of hormone replacement therapy and antidepressants, many women are turning to nutritional and herbal supplements, as well as homeopathy, to treat the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. For information on homeopathy, please go to
Homeopathic Alternatives to Menopause at http://www.arrowroot.com/artfeder3.htm

From Menopause and mood: Is depression linked with hormone changes? Diana L. Dell, MD, FACOG; Donna E. Stewart, MD, FRCPC VOL 108 / NO 3 / SEPTEMBER 1, 2000 / POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE Reports in the literature are inconsistent about whether there is an association between menopause and depressed mood. Studies from both gynecology and general practice have shown that while "clinic" populations endorse depression as part of the menopause, community-based populations do not. It appears that women are more tolerant of the physical changes associated with menopause but seek care for mood symptoms; mood issues are the most common concerns among women attending menopause clinics. Some gynecologic textbooks still list depressed mood, irritability, lack of confidence, and poor concentration as specific symptoms of the perimenopause. The Massachusetts Women's Health Study (3) was a 5-year, community-based, longitudinal study of the association between menopause and depression....Like other community-based studies, this study did not show an increase in depression associated with menopause (3). A history of depression was clearly the variable that was most predictive of subsequent depression (P<0.001). The onset of natural menopause was not associated with an increased risk for depression, except among women who experienced a long perimenopause (>27 months). In these women, transient depression was noted, and the onset of depressive symptoms was more strongly correlated with menstrual problems than with vasomotor symptoms. As reviewed over time, all the "action" was in the perimenopause; as women became postmenopausal their rates of depression declined, independent of any previous history of depression (3). Summary For most women, the perimenopause is not associated with depression. In those who do become depressed, mood symptoms tend to decrease at the end of menopause, regardless of previous history of depression. Many of the changes in brain function that affect mood are secondary to changing estrogen levels in the brain. Treatment with estrogen alone may improve mood in women with mild depressive symptoms, but those unresponsive to estrogen and women who have moderate to severe depression need antidepressant therapy. Please go to: http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2000/09_00/dell.htm for the complete article. Copyright (C) 2001. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

Sally gradually learned to set better boundaries with her children and stopped criticizing them. Sheila had  found an entry level job at a women's agency that paid little but inspired her. Steven signed up for two general education courses at the local community college — "just in case" he decided to get his BS. I had hoped that things would shift for Sally. I wanted her to see that she had choices and possibilities. Sometimes I felt her self pity choked the life out of me.

She touched on my own fears of aging. Once I softened inside and settled in to receive her sadness she started to soften herself and to feel more open to her dreams and waking images. She dreamt that she was in a boat that bumped along in a narrow, walled passage in some stagnant water. She could see the open water way ahead. The water looked calm and she felt that she'd find her way.
 

The constriction motif comes up in the fairy tale images of the lace, the poisoned comb, and the red apple that the evil queen sells or gives to Snow White.
 

The queen discovered from her mirror that Snow White was still alive and living with the dwarfs.  She dressed as a peddler woman and sold Snow White a lace of brightly woven silk.  "'Child!' said the old woman, 'you look a fright. Come, let me lace you up properly.' Suspecting nothing Snow White stepped up and let the old woman put in the new lace. But she did it so quickly and pulled the lace so tight that Snow White's breath was cut off and she fell down as if dead. 'Well, well.' said the queen, 'you're not the fairest in the land now.'"

Grimm's Fairy Tales. Translated by L.L. Weedon. Illus. by Ada Dennis and E. Stuart
Hardy. London: Ernest Nister, [1898], frontispiece at http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/swillustration1.html

However, the dwarfs revived Snow White and warned her never to let anyone in the house while they were away. The queen came again in the disguise of another old woman. She sold Snow White a poisoned comb. "'Now I'll give your hair a proper combing.' Suspecting nothing, poor Snow White stood still for the old woman, but no sooner had the comb touched her hair than the poison took effect and she fell into a dead faint. 'There my beauty,' said the wicked woman. 'It's all up with you now.'"

The dwarfs revived Snow White again. Finally the queen gave Snow White a lovely red apple.  "And no sooner had she taken a bite than she fell to the floor dead. The queen gave her a cruel look, laughed a terrible laugh, and said: 'White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony. The dwarfs won't revive you this time.'"

Grimms' Stories. Translated by Yuso Otsuka. Illustrated by Toshi Maruki. Toyko, Japan:
Gakushu Kenkyu-sha, n.d., pp.106-141. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/swillustration4.html
 

The comb is a feminine image associated with girlish water spirits such as mermaids, who allure men by combing their sensual hair. The queen's strangling lace may also allude to the Greek myth of the Fates, the three women who spin, measure and cut the thread of life. In midlife a woman becomes more aware of her allotted span of life and the limitations she must live with, including her fading beauty. These all can be experienced as an entrapment in a failing body and disappointing life that can turn to bitterness.

Hair is related to sexual maturity and a woman’s erotic allure: her untamed sexuality that the comb attempts to straighten out. Hair is the "life force, strength, energy, the power of thought, inspiration, hair flowing loose depicts freedom; bound it is subjugation" (Cooper p.77).  It is also consciousness, the closest thing to our crown chakras (this is why monks would shave the tops of their heads, to have nothing in between themselves and God). Rapunzel is another tale in which the witch and the maiden battle over hair, the need to contain it, tame it, cut it. The witch attempted to grasp onto Rapunzel’s powers of sexual allure by cutting her hair and keeping it for herself; yet the witch remains static, frozen, infertile.

Another Grimm's fairy tale, "Jorinda and Joringel," also speaks to the theme of being trapped and caged in the complex of the witch. (The 12 Dancing Princesses and other tales from Grimm, Illus. by Lidia Postma,  Ed. by Naomi Lewis, Dial Books, N.Y., 1986)

This tale begins:

"There once was a castle in the heart of a great forest, and in the castle lived a wicked witch. During the day she went around in the form of a cat or a screech owl, but at night, when evil could walk freely, she took on human shape.  If any man came within a hundred paces of her home, she made him freeze like a stone exactly where he stood, until she broke the spell.  But if the intruder was a girl,  she turned her into a bird and shut her into a wicker cage.  Behind those walls were over 7000 wicker cages, and in each was a beautiful bird who had once been a human maiden."

Notice how the victim of the witch is usually the young maiden. Perhaps when we get into this complex, our own innocence is hurt, because when we are witchy, we can’t trust, we can’t love, we can’t receive.

Another kind of entrapment is offered in the mythical figure of Circe, the witch who drugged Odysseus' sailors and turned them into hogs. Odysseus was given a flower by the god Hermes to protect him from her sorcery: a scented white flower with a black root, called moly, which only the gods can recognize and cull. This image is called Circe’s circle, she is seen weaving, but her domesticity hides her sorcery "for the thread she spins is the weaving of the destiny of men. " (The Song of  Eve, Manuela Dunn Mascetti, p.94)

So, after the queen brings the laces to Snow White, the queen returns home and once again asks:

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?
   and she hears the answer:
Lady queen, you are the most beautiful here,
but Snow White beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs
Is still a thousand times more beautiful than you.
 

The clinical task is to help the woman experience her grief and mourn her losses of some of the realities and dreams that have passed away. She needs to find new life within her and to weave a new dream for a different time. She cannot stay the girl who is taken care of by others. Her naiveté that once charmed can now be fatal.
 

Weslia had been caught as surely as Hansel and Gretel had been by the witch.  Weslia's witch was her grandmother, "Great", her guilt that she had caused her death;  but even more so the introject of "Great" that had haunted Weslia throughout her life.  Weslia feared her anger.  She was frightened that if she got mad, she would become 'Great', her "mean as a snake" great grandmother.  So she constricted herself. My concern was not only for Weslia, but what the projection of the anger was doing to little Emily.   And Weslia's mother had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Weslia was part of what is being called "The Sandwich Generation"' caught between caregiving both for young children and aging parents.  For more on this, please go to http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/family/g1117.htm
 
 

When the queen heard that Snow White still lived with  dwarfs, "she trembled and shook with rage. 'Snow White must die!' she cried out. 'Even if it cost me my own life.' Then she went to a secret room that no one else knew about and made a very poisonous apple. It looked so nice on the outside, white with red cheeks, that anyone who saw it would want it; but anyone who ate even the tiniest bit of it would die."

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Freya Littledale. Illus. by Susan Jeffers. New York:
Scholastic, 1980. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/swillustration5.html

Because the witch is eaten alive by her bitterness, jealousy and envy, the creative impulse has run amok. She has lost her connection to herself and her relatedness to others. Isolated and lonely, she uses her powers to attack the self and others in death rather than life affirming movement. The witch's cauldron is a powerful feminine vessel of transformation that creates deadly potions and brews—and so becomes the opposite of the womb.
 
 
 

The clinical picture of a woman in this stage can include:

• feelings of worthlessness and shame
• angry isolation from and alienation of friends
• withdrawal into fantasy
• self destructive behavior, suicidal ideation
• intoxication via chemicals, sleep, TV, food, etc.
• splitting: in its extreme form, paranoid and delusional thoughts

* The spells often cause sleep ( the poppies in the Wizard of Oz) or coma (Sleeping Beauty and Snow White) again suggesting the failed initiation theme.
 

"'Are you afraid of poison?' said the old woman. 'Look I'm cutting it in half. You eat the red cheek and I'll eat the white cheek.' But the apple had been so cleverly made that only the red cheek was poisoned....[Snow White] held out her hand and took the poisonous half. And no sooner had she taken a bite than she fell to the floor dead."

The two distinct halves, pure and poison, of the apple in the story of Snow White suggest that if the split were healed, integration could occur.
 

Weslia was mad, and her anger seemed to coincide with her hot flashes. It was very hard to sit and feel her anger directed at me, without defending myself; and hard also not to ally with her regarding her anger at managed care.

Hot flashes, irregular bleeding, night sweats, sleeplessness, weight gain, mood swings, and memory problems are all associated with menopause. Add to this list vaginal symptoms including dryness, thinning and shrinking, which can increase the incidence of vaginal and bladder infections.  Now factor in sexual problems, including a lack of  desire and diminished  orgasmic response, both of which are affected by decreases of estrogen and androgens during and after menopause.

The major health issues affecting women at midlife and beyond can include:
 

No wonder women can get depressed at menopause!

While some women do benefit from HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) there are also alternative approaches focusing on herbs, vitamins, supplements, body work, acupuncture, etc.  It is beyond the scope of this course to investigate these methods more fully.  (For more on menopause, please go to  Menopause-Online at http://www.menopause-online.com/index.html)

A woman may have emotional "hot flashes" in addition to the physical ones during her menopausal years. We burn with rage and burn with passion. After years of tending the hearth, or taking care of others’ emotional needs, many women feel "burnt-out". Rage is ignited from frustrated desire when a woman does not get what she wants, particularly relating to possessive love and entitlement.

Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Adapted by Jim Razzi. Illus. by
Fernando Guell and Fred Marvin. New York: Disney Press, 1993 http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/swillustration14.html

The dangers of too much fire can include:

• Getting stuck in anger which can then evolve into self righteousness.
• Physical illness
• Self destructive behavior
• Lashing out and bad-mouthing others
• The chronic complainer, alienating friends and family who respond by withdrawing and avoiding her.

Elder abuse is a serious problem in our society, and must be reported, under California law, by therapists.  California Laws Chapter 769, Statutes of 1986, Chapter 637, Statutes of 1987, and Chapter 1396, Statutes of 1987 provides for mandatory reporting of physical abuse when:

the victim reports that abuse has occurred or if you observe the incident when an injury or condition reasonably leads one to suspect that abuse has occurred.

I felt terrible and kept wondering if I could have handled it differently.  I worried about Cynthia, but there was nothing I could do, as she refused to see me or return phone calls.  I feared that she would become more isolated and disillusioned.

Witches are associated with fire; with the heat of the cauldron, the flames of Hell and red-hot rage. In stories, witches die by fire or water.

Snow White was expecting her stepmother at the wedding. Iron dancing shoes had been set by the fire; they were brought to the wicked queen with tongs. She was forced to dance in red-hot shoes, and dance she did until she died.

Jung associates dance with transformation and with the necessary death of maidens, "because their exclusive domination of the feminine psyche hinders the individuation process, that is the maturation of the personality."  (Schechtmann p.47 citing Jung 9I, 352)
 

The end result of a woman's fiery rage is to feel that she is "in ashes", full of despair. Deep mourning is the essence of what has survived her ordeal. A dryness and inner emptiness can result, but also a dispassionate perspective of the excesses of her past rageful states. Transforming the fire of anger into the fire of passion is our best hope for transformation. Perhaps the queen arises when the witch and the girl have integrated each other; after the rage is burnt out and following a time of introspection.
 
 

Read Me a Fairy Tale: A Child's Book of Classic Fairy Tales. Retold by Rose Impey. Illus.
by Ian Beck. New York: Scholastic, 1992, p. 51. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/
 
 
 
 

Chapter 5

The Witch and the Queen
 

Introduction
 

Table of contents

 

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