Rachel Feinstein Unveils the Darker Side of Fantasyland

“Maiden, Mother, Crone” is an evocative title. What exactly did you have in mind?

In each stage of your life, there is something great and something not. When you’re a maiden, the whole world wants you. You’re on fire. But you have no idea what you’re doing at all. Now that I have three kids, I’m aware of what I’m doing. But I’m tired, and things are starting to shift in my body. I’m moving toward the crone stage, where what’s going on is getting clearer and clearer. But by then, you’re more tired.

What is the chief impulse that drives you?

It’s always been a story or some type of out-of-body experience. That’s why I’m interested in the fairy tale. I’m curious about why some ideas get cemented in story form as fact, and others do not. I think about Lilith. She was Adam’s equal and she came before Eve. But Lilith complained too much, so she was written out of the story. I’ve always been fascinated by women who are loudmouthed, who have something to say, and how that’s been a problem in history.

Are there moments when excess and aggression take over your imagination?

The way I think of it, the right hand of your body is the doer side; the left hand is the passive side. The right hand is phallic, pushing out into the world, and it’s dry. The left side is moist, and it’s the taking, the receptive side. You need both to become whole. 

Your imagery can be fanciful, but there are also elements of the sinister and grotesque. Where did those come from?

My dad, who died in August, was very extreme. I absorbed his idea of a brutalistic life. His attitude was very much: “Toughen up, get over it.”

Source: The New York Times

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Rachel Feinstein (comedian) • Fantasyland • Triple Goddess (Neopaganism) • You're on Fire • Crone • What's Going On (song) • Science Fantasy (magazine) • Out-of-body experience • Fairy tale • Idea • Narrative • Substantial form • Fact • Lilith • Adam • Egalitarianism • Lilith • Phallus • Grotesque • Brutalist architecture • Get Over It (film) •