Images of the Untouched: Virginity in Psyche, Myth and Community (The Pegasus Foundation Series, 1)

Rating:
Summary: well-written analysis of virginity as a concept.
Review: Just as in Joanne Stroud's "The Olympians: Ancient Deities as Archetypes", this novel deals with the Jungian concept of archetypes. An archetype is a similar representation of a concept present in every person's mind despite cultural and difference in generation. Common archetypes are those of a god, a hero, man or woman which are present in every culture. The difference between simple categorization and archetypes is that an archetypal image is percieved as in dreams, visions, and fantasies. The book is divided into 8 parts, each dealing with social, cultural or psychological perceptions of this "virginal archetype." The book does a very in depth job of providing different points of view and opinions about virginity. Even though the different essays may be read separetly, I would recommend reading all of them and then trying to formulate your own opinion. If you are not interested in virginity as a subject, it is still interesting read from a psychological eye-view.