Carol Gilligan, whose classic In a Different Voice revolutionized the study of human psychology, now offers a brilliant, provocative book ab...
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reviews
Jun 19, 2011
i should really be liveblogging this. i just got to an extended (inset) quote of indigo girls lyrics. usually i am probably the best possible audience for something like that but i think the intro of "The Indigo Girls, two women who are among the many contemporary popular women singers..." jarred. apart from getting me to sing galileo to myself, i'm not sure the intended point, because it led without commentary into an extended recap of a dream carol gilligan had about her mother's lif
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Jun 20, 2011
Debra
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Gilligan describes something I've perceived in the dance of male/female relationships -- the emotional disconnect that takes place and the ways they've come about. I will re-read this book. My first impression is that "Pleasure" should actually read "joy" and be related to an inner state, an inner marriage and not the relationship with another. Once the inner marriage between the opposites takes place, this gives birth to joy and contentment. When two people who have done th
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Mar 15, 2010
Ryna
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I must confess, this is not the kind of book that tops my reading list but after a very memorable meeting with Carol Gilligan herself I couldn't pass the opportunity to get a signed a copy of one of her publications.
The Birth of Pleasure captured my interest because of it's title but inside is a superb side by side analysis of her interviews with children and couples in crisis as well as literary work from the allegorical myth of Cupid and Psyche to Anne Frank's Diary to Proust, Tenn More...
The Birth of Pleasure captured my interest because of it's title but inside is a superb side by side analysis of her interviews with children and couples in crisis as well as literary work from the allegorical myth of Cupid and Psyche to Anne Frank's Diary to Proust, Tenn More...
Jul 25, 2010
Daniel
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Mired amidst a virtual avalanche of incomprehensible feminist bullshit are bad poems, bad song lyrics, a badly re-tooled Oedipus, a soporific recitation of Psyche & Cupid, and (very occasionally) a genuine insight or two.
This book must exist simply to increase the number of books in the world: I can see no other purpose for it. The only possible reason to read such a meandering, faux-intellectual, threadbare bromide is for the sport of hunting down the seemingly accidental point, far More...
This book must exist simply to increase the number of books in the world: I can see no other purpose for it. The only possible reason to read such a meandering, faux-intellectual, threadbare bromide is for the sport of hunting down the seemingly accidental point, far More...
Oct 21, 2010
Emily
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When I saw this on the sale book table, looking very pink and whatnot, I thought "What's that dumb girly book going to be?" But when I saw that Carol Gilligan was the author, I had to pick it up. Carol Gilligan wrote In a Different Voice, which I read in my Development Psychology class in college. I haven't been really moved to dip back into psychology of this sort since but Gilligan has quite a lot of really important stuff to say in this book. I find myself wanting to tell people ab
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May 28, 2008
Bill
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This is an excellent book on modern culture/psychology/male-female relationships. It takes the Psyche-Cupid myth as its core theme and uses modern psychology, literature, biology, sociology to try to understand why we are often so screwed up in our relationships with ourselves and with others. It has too much in it to cover in a short review, but here are a few memorable pieces:
- Anne Frank's diary has 3 versions, the one she wrote originally in her own voice, a version that she edited aft More...
- Anne Frank's diary has 3 versions, the one she wrote originally in her own voice, a version that she edited aft More...
Jun 12, 2010
Lynn
rated it:
"My tongue suddenly flew above me then
Suddenly light and limitless
I turned my eyes toward it
astonished at its ambition
I never intended it to say that much!
But it sang, on and on
I put the diamond in my ear
Closed my eyes
And embraced the arias my tongue sang and sang
Above my head, free, unbound and tireless." Elizabeth Austen
Suddenly light and limitless
I turned my eyes toward it
astonished at its ambition
I never intended it to say that much!
But it sang, on and on
I put the diamond in my ear
Closed my eyes
And embraced the arias my tongue sang and sang
Above my head, free, unbound and tireless." Elizabeth Austen
Aug 09, 2011
Daniel
rated it:
It was a fun little read. It mapped love with a mythical story of Venus and Cupid. The writer was creative in her incorporation of the story along with her own experiences in counseling sessions.
Apr 12, 2010
April
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Amazing, beautiful, lyrical book that gives an alternative to the typical tragic love stories of western literature. Very interesting.
Jan 30, 2009
Sue
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"The power of love upsets the order of things." This new look at the psychology of love had me looking at Shakespears and Freud to come to a new understanding.
Dec 01, 2008
yes yes yes yes. a gift from frances, can't wait to get started. only two more weeks until break, yippee!
Aug 14, 2009
I-ki
rated it:
An interesting read and articulates concepts in ways that are understandable and resonates.
Dec 16, 2009
Michelle
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I thought this book was going to be primarily about romantic relationships, but it also had insights applicable to familial relationships, friendships, professional relationships, etc. Gilligan takes a case-study approach to this work and also includes some personal anecdotes and a psychological analysis through the relaying of relevant Greek myths. Overall I think the work could have been more cogent and less cluttered with trumped up sentimentality.
Sep 15, 2007
Samson
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Carol Gilligan's ability to transition from idea to quote to support was absolutely amazing. This was a near seamless work that absolutely blew my mind. I can't remember half of what she said, but reading it revolutionized my perspectives on relationships and love. What is more important, Love or the Law? Truth or Relationship? Why is love so often a tragedy? A beautiful narrative that I recommend.
Sep 06, 2008
Jessica
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I read this for a class with the author entitled Resisting Injustice. While I enjoyed what Gilligan calls her associative writing style and appreciated what she said about children's indoctrination into patriarchy, I didn't get a lot out of the book itself. I would have given it two stars but for the interesting conversation it provoked in class.
Jan 26, 2011
Amy
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so far an intriguing and wonderful read...
Finished the book and was grateful to be exposed to carol gilligan and her thinking about women and their voice. this book takes her thoughts even further as she talks about both men and women's voices in relationship to love and each other. a lovely mix of psychology, poetry, literature, and myth.
Finished the book and was grateful to be exposed to carol gilligan and her thinking about women and their voice. this book takes her thoughts even further as she talks about both men and women's voices in relationship to love and each other. a lovely mix of psychology, poetry, literature, and myth.
Aug 28, 2008
Jenny
rated it:
I can't believe I ate the whole thing! But really, a very timely book, considering my other recent reads (Against Love, A Room of One's Own). Gilligan pulls together work and ideas from multiple disciplines very effectively. It makes sense more now than I think it would have at any other time in my life.
Aug 13, 2008
Jenna
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I love her use of mythology, fiction stories, non-fiction writings, and psychology studies (from the past and present). Instead of writing a text book, she uses these works to tell a story that reveals what the birth of pleasure can be.
It changed the way I look at the world.
It changed the way I look at the world.
Jun 06, 2008
Stace
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interesting perspective on love: and how boys & girls are conditioned differently w/ social conditions --but also rooted in such deep mythic themes & elements to 'split' from love. interesting perspective on developmental splitting, trauma, dissociation & love and pleasure.
Nov 14, 2007
Jennifer
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A study of women's pursuit of love and pleasure via the mythology of Eros and Psyche. I think Anne Carson did it better (and more ruthlessly in terms of details) with Eros the Bittersweet.
Nov 22, 2007
Miranda
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This is one of my favorite authors. I've only written two authors fan letters and she is one of them. I recommend both her book highly.
Feb 14, 2007
Rachel
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The best of all of her works that I have read (and I have read many!!)
Jan 21, 2012
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