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Why Do Goddesses Mirror

Decent Essays

The Goddesses’ Mirror by David Kinsley, displays goddesses from various distinct cultures. Every single goddess is known due to unique and special attributes. Many goddesses are associated with the earth and the fertility linked with the earth. Three of the goddesses focused in this book are from the Hindu tradition (Durga, Lakshmi, and Sita), while the other two are from the religious tradition of Mesopotamia and Egypt (Inanna and Isis) respectively. All these goddesses have distinct factors, but the real questions are; what characteristics make them the goddess and does those who share the same characteristics also a goddess? This paper will be focusing on the numerous factors that make a divine feminine, a “Goddess,” and how the goddesses …show more content…

Not necessarily. There are some goddesses who fall prey to this view of patriarchal culture. There are pieces of evidence in Kinsley’s textbook to support this idea. To begin with, Inanna, who is a Mesopotamian goddess, a goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, and political power. Even though she has so much power, she is still seen as a submissive character, for example, when she offered Gilgamesh everything in return for his love, she is insulted for being outspoken, and her character was questioned. On the other hand, Indian goddesses such as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Sita are central even in the patriarchal culture. Durga and Kali are even considered to be powerful and independent than the male deities, and they can easily dominate them (xvii). Hinduism seems to teach that goddesses are essential and does not necessarily imply sexual equality. Besides, female power, creativity, and authority in the religious domain do not necessarily suggest a higher female status. Indeed, sometimes the same text can contain an elevated goddess theology and a low estimate of women’s status. For example, the author of the Devi Bhagavata Purana, a text that praises the “Great Goddess" above all other deities, and interestingly also despises women

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