| The dark path of jealousy is one with which many women are familiar. When envy frames the mother-daughter relationship, it creates a push-pull effect of love and hate, often affecting the daughter's psychological development. The roots of this envy are based in the personal mythology of both mother and daughter as well as in a culture that encourages solitary female mothering, engendering exclusivity and possessiveness. The envied daughter eventually develops an internal jealous-mother archetype and responds to this archetype in a number of ways, depending on her own myth and personality. The archetypal witch may run rampant in the envied daughter's psyche, influencing how she relates to herself and the world around her. Using the lenses of depth psychology, mythology, cultural analysis, feminist theory and systemic perspectives, and Buddhist philosophy, Daughters of Envy: Women and Maternal Betrayal explores definitions of mothering, mother-daughter symbiosis, psychological attachment issues, emotional orphanhood, manifestations of envy, and the heroic journey a woman makes when she confronts the archetypal witch. Research includes literary review and analysis as well as interviews with self-identified envied daughters. Also included are artistic representations of the heroine's descent into the underworld and her ascent into a new consciousness. This study finds that envy and betrayal between women is a pattern often passed from one generation to the next, especially when women assume the demanding role of primary caregiver to children. It is possible that the betraying, exclusive mother-daughter relationship can be eased by social and individual change. If men and women assume equal parenting responsibility and children are raised by several adults (including family members, friends, and reliable daycare providers), this can provide daughters with a broad and consistent base of support that promotes secure attachment and healthy models of behavior. This contributes to the daughter's self-confidence and her ability to make choices that support her well-being. For the envied adult daughter to transform her inner witch, she must recognize her own capacity for jealousy and betrayal, establish a new, more compassionate relationship with this archetype, and claim the boon of her heroic journey—herself. |
