Creativity, Chaos and the Madwoman with Linda Leonard

Product Description

The Madwoman is a paradoxical archetype whose manifestations range from insanity and fury to passion, ecstasy and creative chaos. In some form or other, she is part of the inner chorus in every personality, in both men and women. Linda Leonard has a personal acquaintance with the Madwoman both through her professional therapy practice and her own personal life. Here she explores how the Madwoman’s various facets–characters such as the Ice Queen, Dragon Lady, Caged Bird, Muse, Warrior Woman and Bag Lady–have appeared in historical women’s lives, in literature and in contemporary films such as Thelma and Louise. Leonard helps us to understand “how we can live in that energy and, instead of letting the energy take us over in the destructive direction, use it to create–both for ourselves and for human community and for the planet.”

Leonard is the author of Meeting the Madwoman (Bantam 1993) and Witness to the Fire: Creativity and the Veil of Addiction (Shambhala 1989).

Topics Explored in this Dialogue:

Host: Michael Toms Interview Date: 2/3/1993