The story of the Maiden Tsar is richly complex, detailing a young man's encounters with a series of strong female characters--some mythical, some mortal--including a tutor who betrays him, the harsh but wise Baba Yaga, and the omnipotent and beautiful Maiden Tsar. In his commentary, Bly explores the representation of the masculine, drawing on psychological, spiritual, and mythological sources to inform his analysis; Woodman uses a Jungian lens through which she can probe the psyche of the feminine. Together they hope to find a place in which the two sexes can coexist, without undermining or compromising the powerful energy of the feminine.
A thoughtful, enlightening, and impassioned work, The Maiden King may very well turn out to be the highbrow Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. --Kera Bolonik