Water and Woman: Symbolic-aesthetic Archetype

The 21st century is called the century of water. Water plays a significant role in our lives from the beginning of humankind till now. The book concentrates on the symbolic-archetypal connection between water and woman as it occurs in myths, philosophical systems, religious views, and especially in art. The associations connected with water-woman archetype are explored, such as madness, sacrifice, seduction, the unconscious, dreaming, nostalgia, melancholy and depression. Phenomena as whirlpools, waves and the ability of water to serve as a mirror and to reflect things are explained, and close connection between the water and music is found. Interpretations of the wide range of the artworks (Magritte, Brunovský, Richier, Sage, Parret, Fini, Rimmington, Toyen, Drtikol, Domínguez, Blake, Woolf, Svobodová, Debussy) are related to philosophical concepts (Hegel, Baudrillard, Irigaray, Kristeva). The multifaceted analysis offered by the author should be useful for professionals and students of philosophy, religion, anthropology, psychology, art history and gender studies, but also for wider audience interested in symbolic meanings and aesthetic representations.