The Wounded Woman — 1982 ·

Healing the Father-Daughter Relationship

By Linda Schierse Leonard

“In writing The Wounded Woman, Linda Leonard has spoken courageously from the depth of her experience and in so doing offered us a model of feminine authority, wisdom and spirit that is compelling.”

“A revelation for men, an inspiration for women, it offers all of us the chance to break the bitter cycle.”

Alan Rinzler — San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a good book, a strong book…Speaks with the beauty and power of the feminine spirit.”

Patricia Harleman — Journal of Women and Therapy

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This book is an invaluable key to self-understanding. Using examples from her own life and those of her clients, as well as from dreams, fairy tales, myths, films, and literature, Leonard, a Jungian analyst, exposes the wound of the spirit that both men and women of our culture bear – a wound that is grounded in a poor relationship between masculine and feminine principles.

Leonard speculates that when a father is wounded in his own psychological development, he is not able to give his daughter the care and guidance she needs. Inheriting this wound, she may find that her ability to express herself professionally, intellectually, sexually, and socially is impaired. On a broader scale, Leonard discusses how women compensate for cultural devaluation, resorting to passive submission (“the Eternal Girl”), or a defensive imitation of the masculine (“the Armored Amazon”).

The Wounded Woman shows that by understanding the father-daughter wound and working to transform it psychologically, it is possible to achieve a fruitful, caring relationship between men and women, between fathers and daughters – a relationship that honors both the mutuality and the uniqueness of the sexes.

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Linda Leonard is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society for Jungian Analysts. She was associate professor of philosophy at University of Colorado, Denver, and assistant professor of philosophy at San Diego State University.