Primitive passions : men, women, and the quest for ecstasy / Marianna Torgovnick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Torgovnick, Marianna, 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social structure.

Primitivism.

Human beings--Animal nature.

Human beings.

Sex role.

Spirituality.

Physical Description:

viii, 270 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House, Inc., 1997.

Summary:

In this provocative and illuminating book, Marianna Torgovnick explores the psychology of our profound attraction to cultures we call "primitive". Whether located in Africa, the South Pacific, or the American Southwest, the primitive has become synonymous in the Western imagination with a range of emotions and experiences thought to be lost in modern life: reverence for the land and for nature; strong communal bonds; sexual plentitude; and, perhaps most intriguing, and ecstatic sense of connection to the universe and the life force. Torgovnick investigates the numerous ways we have turned toward the primitive out of spiritual hunger for such deeply human experiences - a hunger that could once be satisfied within the West's own mystical traditions but that often no longer can be. Brilliantly encompassing religion, art, psychology, literature, and other aspects of our culture, Primitive Passions offers new insight into our ideas of spirituality and gender, and, ultimately, into the hidden but vital parts of ourselves.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-257) and index.

ISBN:

0679430865

OCLC:

34919761