The Cassandra Complex: Living With Disbelief : A Modern Perspective on Hysteria (Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts)

Blessed and cursed by Apollo, through his gift of prophecy Cassandra foretold the future. Enraged by her rejection of him, Apollo spoiled his gift. No one would ever believe her. Cassandra's story is a chronicle of disbelief. When she predicted the downfall of her people, contemptuous fellow Trojans willfully persisted in their folly until they were defeated and enslaved. Having suffered madness, rape and abduction, she even foresaw her own bloody murder, but could not escape. This is the archetypal tragedy of the prophetess. Intuitive, medial women, especially sensitive to coming change, have always been unwelcome oracles of upheaval. Over the centuries they were ostracized, reviled and burned. Eventually, they no longer beveled themselves. Must modern Cassandra suffer the same fate? Cannot Apollo's cold cruelty be transformed? The author traces Apollo's evolution from wild consort of the Great Mother to cool and rational representative of the patriarchy. After describing the treatment through history of women overburdened by unbelievable visions, she related the stories of modern women to the lives of the goddesses who lived in the times of Apollo. Then these strands are gathered together to show how the burden of unconscious prophetic sensibilities can become the creative wellspring of a proud new Cassandra. The last question remains: will modern Troy listen?