Buy new:
-11% $16.87
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$16.87 with 11 percent savings
List Price: $18.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 23 hrs 3 mins
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
$$16.87 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$16.87
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$9.95
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Minimal signs of wear. Ships direct from Amazon! Minimal signs of wear. Ships direct from Amazon! See less
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$16.87 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$16.87
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Jody Gentian Bower
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story Paperback – March 1, 2015

by Jody Gentian Bower (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 44 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$16.87","priceAmount":16.87,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"16","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"87","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"9nA2yR3LTjvr4Dd%2FWeHrVPGJUqpdPNMO%2BHf917SOCmn54HiijQd076N%2FKEz31IUX%2BN1xNOmGHj5OTgZbwyslct82r5cXqJUxzfydRq8Kc1k0Ni%2BSJsGRkgSvCtvaZJOnuW4NeLE6%2Bx9EX3W4J6KK1A%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.95","priceAmount":9.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"9nA2yR3LTjvr4Dd%2FWeHrVPGJUqpdPNMO0nF3Xzoh4j1O15YNE%2F%2BLuVbSu3Oi1cVJWfcHKQAGnIPYjEPtm4qBdRXhdn4LrRHbSJk%2F2OFCue5Ofsq%2B1vf%2Ft7nRI6aNR81bGc2hN58Jwpz1wy%2BEDT5L8dEUdMVZT%2B%2FVgjzcQ1OJ6dXA9VxNq9b6oQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Ever since women in the West first started publishing works of fiction, they have written about a heroine who must wander from one place to another as she searches for a way to live the life she wants to live, a life through which she can express her true self creatively in the world. Yet while many have written about the "heroine's journey," most of those authors base their models of this journey on Joseph Campbell's model of the Heroic Quest story or on old myths and tales written down by men, not on the stories that women tell.

In Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story, cultural mythologist Jody Gentian Bower looks at novels by women--and some men--as well as biographies of women that tell the story of the Aletis, the wandering heroine. She finds a similar pattern in works spanning the centuries, from Lady Mary Wroth and William Shakespeare in the 1600s to Sue Monk Kidd, Suzanne Collins, and Philip Pullman in the current century, including works by Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Kate Chopin, Virginia Woolf, Doris Lessing, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Alice Walker, to name just a few. She also discusses myths and folk tales that follow the same pattern.

Dr. Bower argues that the Aletis represents an archetypal character that has to date received surprisingly little scholarly recognition despite her central role in many of the greatest works of Western fiction. Using an engaging, down-to-earth writing style, Dr. Bower outlines the stages and cast of characters of the Aletis story with many examples from the literature. She discusses how the Aletis story differs from the hero's quest, how it has changed over the centuries as women gained more independence, and what heroines of novels and movies might be like in the future. She gives examples from the lives of real women and scatters stories that illustrate many of her points throughout the book. In the end, she concludes, authors of the Aletis story use their imagination to give us characters who serve as role models for how a woman can live a full and free life.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Quest Books
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0835609340
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0835609340
  8. See all details
Next page
All the Little Raindrops: A Novel
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

Frequently bought together

Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story
$16.87
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Princess Powers Up: Watching the Sleeping Beauties Become Warrior Goddesses
$12.51
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jody Gentian Bower's beautifully written treatise on "the wandering heroine" is impeccably voiced within the pages of Jane Eyre's Sisters. Her understanding of how female archetypes change cultural patterns over time is filled with historical references. It is the clearest documentation I've ever encountered on the concept of the aletis. Her skill as an author makes this a pleasurable read. Bower lays bare the ways in which women's fiction still struggles in the face of male-dominated criticism. It lays the groundwork for our next generation of women artists to change the cultural matrix again and again. I think this should be required reading for all MFA students - men as well as women." --Pamela Moore Dionne, author of the forthcoming 'Blue Truth' mystery series ― Reviews

"Provocative, informative, and highly entertaining, Jane Eyre's Sisters is a valuable resource for novelists creating strong and believable female characters." --Lillian Stewart Carl, author of the 'Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron' mysteries ― Reviews

"Finally! We who have been seeking the feminine counterpart to the masculine hero story have reason to rejoice. Aletis, the wandering heroine, is an archetypal treasure who's been with us all along, and I am deeply grateful to Jody Gentian Bower, a brilliant new pioneer in the wilderness of the soul, for introducing her in this groundbreaking book." --Jean Benedict Raffa, author of The Bridge to Wholeness, Dream Theatres of the Soul, and Healing the Sacred Divide ― Reviews

"This is a book full of those wonderful moments of familiarity that spring upon us when we find a story exactly like something we have experienced in our own lives. When women read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, for example, we find inspiration in her rebellion against her poverty and femaleness. When her determined sense of self brings her, at last, to a marvelous outcome, we rejoice with her, wondering if we can make it too. Jody Bower's many examples of women who wander 'from place to place searching for love or freedom or answers,' drawn from novels and stories, myths and folk tales, genre fiction and popular culture, women's biography and autobiography, make her book a treasure trove of epiphany and identification. Women, and men who genuinely desire to understand the true shape of women's lives, will find Bower's discernment of the differences between the journey of the male hero as outlined by Joseph Campbell and the heroine's wanderings, drawn from her large sample of readings, as illuminating as they are startling." --Annis Pratt, author of Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction, Dancing with Goddesses, and The Marshlanders Series (www. annisvpratt.com) ― Reviews

"Referencing mythology, fairy tales, Jungian psychology, "romance novels", science fiction, and classics from women's literature, Bower describes, dissects, and redefines the idea of women on the heroic journey. With a solid background in Depth Psychology, she has become skilled at peeling away the layers from classic archetypes in order to find the essence that truly applies to women, as well as pinpointing the ways in which society has disempowered (or empowered) those core essences. Lest you think that this book is strictly am academic exercise, know that she takes up the challenge of practical application with topics like The Power of Story and the Imagination, The Frenemy, Problematic Parents and Guardians, Marrying a Fantasy, Refusing Obligations, Sorting the Seeds, Learning Discrimination, The Home of One's Own, Transforming Communities, Leaving a Legacy, and Words as Maps. There's an amazing bibliography which can serve as an almost never-ending supply of book suggestions for a "heroine of the month" discussion group. Let customers know that Bower is bearing testimony to the fact that women truly can change the world, if they are willing to change themselves." --Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight magazine ― Reviews

About the Author


Jody Gentian Bower, Ph.D. is a cultural mythologist with a doctorate in Mythological Studies with a Depth Psychology emphasis. She maintains a blog about mythic and archetypal motifs in current culture at jodybower.com/myths-archetypes-in-film/. Currently, she teaches classes and speaks on various topics related to mythology, archetypal studies, religion, psychology, and neuroscience. She also works as a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach. She recently blogging for www.thewellwrittenwoman.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quest Books; 1st Paperback Edition (March 1, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0835609340
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0835609340
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.035 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 44 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jody Gentian Bower

Jody Gentian Bower

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Jody Gentian Bower knew that she was meant to be a writer by the age of 10. She was one of the first graduates of the alternative school The Evergreen State College, majoring in psychobiology and the history of science. After a 30-year career writing scientific and technical materials for other people, she earned a doctorate in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She wrote her dissertation on the wandering heroine who can be found in myths and folk tales, novels featuring a female protagonist, and biographies of notable women. This work became the basis for Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story.

Over the past decade, Jody has lectured and taught classes on the myths, old and new, that play out in popular culture. A lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, she maintains a blog on archetypes and myths in movies and television, which led to her latest book, The Princess Powers Up: Watching the Sleeping Beauties Become Warrior Goddesses. In this book she traces how female protagonists of scifi and fantasy shows have evolved from the passive princess awaiting her prince to powerful queens and, recently, even more powerful goddesses, reflecting society's changing views of women. She argues that this trend has also led to a more inclusive and diverse idea of who can be heroic. In 2022, Jody took on a new role as a contract book editor for New Harbinger Publications.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jody grew up backpacking, sailing, and skiing. She has sung in choirs since she was 4 years old, is happiest when it is snowing, and is unreasonably fond of German shepherds.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
44 global ratings
Valuable lessons for women and men.
5 Stars
Valuable lessons for women and men.
Jody Bower brings a concept of the feminine into the 21st century with intelligence, practical advice, and her big heart. She offers succinct inter-pretations of many books, films, comics, and CGJung, and she brings up to date how women have had to struggle against accepted cultural norms.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Joanna Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars Insight and illumination for the wandering soul
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
Verified Purchase
A clear, lucid, and brilliant analysis of the archetype of the Aletis, which is Greek for wanderer. See especially chapter 4 for a beautiful summary of the differences between a hero's journey and an Aletis story. A favorite quote: "The Aletis seeks not only to know herself but also to reclaim those parts of herself devalued by society. Rejecting internalized negative cultural ideas about women is the first barrier she must overcome before she can go on. It is sometimes a long process to discover in just how many ways such ideas hold power over us, even after we are sure that we've rejected them" (p 135). As you can see, Bower's insights apply equally to stories and to life.
Helpful
 Report
Margaret Mendenhall
5.0 out of 5 stars Where has this book been all my life?
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book was recommended as a book club selection, so when I began reading it I had no idea what to expect. But when I started reading it I could not put it down. I am so grateful for this book to bring meaning to my experiences as a woman in our society.
Helpful
 Report
Samwise
5.0 out of 5 stars I see the Heroine's Journey differently
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
The author's insightful exploration of women's lived experiences helped me envision the Heroine's Journey in a way that is much more applicable to my own life. Read this book! It might invite you to see things differently too!
Helpful
 Report
Emily K Wagner
4.0 out of 5 stars Made me rethink my dislike of Jane Eyre.
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2015
I wish I had bought a paper copy rather than the Kindle book so that I could flip around in it and refer to things.

Nevertheless, this was an interesting and fresh look at the heroine journey, not only as it compares to the hero journey in fiction, but as it applies to our development as women in the real world.

There were some areas that I had trouble with. For example, someone who abandons her family to go discover herself is seen as being selfish, because she IS selfish. And it's not because she's a woman. A man who abandons his family is also selfish.

I also have views on morality that don't always square with the new morality of today's society, and I haven't heard any good reason yet why I should change my views.

And Mr. Knightley's decision to leave his home and live at Emma's home after their marriage appalled me, too. It was less of a noble sacrifice than it was pandering to the idiotic whims of a selfish old coot. :P

There were more parts of the book that I agreed with than disagreed with, however, and part of the reason I wish I had a paper copy is because it would be easier to find them and mention them here.

I will need to add a few more authors to my reading list. That much is obvious. And I'll have to give Jane Eyre another shot. I've tried twice and hated Jane both times. Maybe this book will help.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
kathymakeyev
5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable lessons for women and men.
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
Verified Purchase
Jody Bower brings a concept of the feminine into the 21st century with intelligence, practical advice, and her big heart. She offers succinct inter-
pretations of many books, films, comics, and CGJung, and she brings up to date how women have had to struggle against accepted cultural norms.
Customer image
kathymakeyev
5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable lessons for women and men.
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
Jody Bower brings a concept of the feminine into the 21st century with intelligence, practical advice, and her big heart. She offers succinct inter-
pretations of many books, films, comics, and CGJung, and she brings up to date how women have had to struggle against accepted cultural norms.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
Helpful
 Report
K. Carlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Revelatory!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
Verified Purchase
Jody’s book opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the Heroine’s Journey. It has given me the gift to see that there are many ways to walk through a life.
Helpful
 Report
Charmaine Whittington
3.0 out of 5 stars Empowered women generally are happy women
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
Interesting read. I'm all about empowering women in literature and this book did the trick.
Helpful
 Report
Priscilla Hobbs
5.0 out of 5 stars Like Bower, I don't think that a heroine's journey ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
As a student of mythological studies, I've spent much time contemplating Campbell's hero's journey, and exploring interpretations of the heroine's journey. Like Bower, I don't think that a heroine's journey can be simply "imposed" on the Campbell momomyth, because the experience of being a woman is necessarily different than what Campbell writes about (he even says so much at some point). I find Bower's interpretation of the romantic novels of the 19th century to be a refreshing approach to the heroine's journey. In other works, the heroine's journey is based on the Campbell model and/or is constructed by women during times when things aren't going according to plan. Neither of these work, because they fail to provide a comprehensive view of what it's like to be a woman, and I personally find these models difficult to appreciate. My knowledge of Romantic literature is limited, and Bower provides just enough of the story for her analysis (and thankfully not so much as to be a book of spoilers!).

Bower relies on an archetypal approach in her analysis, but makes this theoretical component accessible. She provides enough of an introduction to archetypal psychology and comparative mythology to whet the appetite of anyone who may interested in exploring this method further.

In full disclosure, Jody is a personal friend of mine, and that's what prompted me to write a review, but it's not the reason I recommend the book. I recommend this book, because it's one of the few books I've read in which I can find myself in the analysis. This book helps move the work of mythologists forward, and is a valuable contribution to the field.
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Marina Dawson
5.0 out of 5 stars If you love literature, story telling
Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
If you love literature, story telling, myth and folk tales, this is a must read! I read this on the strong recommendation of a friend and it did not disappoint. A compelling & incredibly interesting read.
Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great book. Accessible easy to read and full of interesting ideas and arguments.
Report