“At the opening of the Odyssey, Telemachus, inspired by the male-born Athena, searches for his father by turning against his mother. Jesus too publicly spurns his mother to be about his father's business. Male adulthood begins with the breaking of female chains.” MotherFatherJesusBornFemaleInspiredMalesOpeningChainsAdulthoodBeing A MotherAthenaOdyssey Book:Sexual Personae Source: Sexual Personae
“A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world's condemnation, a mother still loves on, and still hopes that her child may turn from his evil ways, and repent; still she remembers the infant smiles that once filled her bosom with rapture, the merry laugh, the joyful shout of his childhood, the opening promise of his youth; and she can never be brought to think him all unworthy.” ThinkingWorldWayMayChildrenStillsRememberFacesMotherTurnsEvilFatherEnemyLaughingWifeChildhoodYouthBrotherPromiseHusbandFilledEndureOpeningDesertJoyfulBrothers And SistersInfantRepentBosomsMerryUnworthyRaptureCondemnationMother's Love Author:Washington Irving