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In The Freudian Mystique, Slipp lays out the breadth of his study at the outset, telling us that to understand feminine psychology
a multicausal orientation is essential that includes not only the oedipal but also the preoedipal and postoedipal periods. In this way, the dynamic relationships between the biological, intrapsychic, interpersonal, social, and cultural forces can more readily be taken into account. (p. 19)
In the first section of the book, “Historical-Cultural Background,” Slipp goes back into antiquity exploring how women were closely associated with nature and with the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. “Because of these fantasied ties to nature,” he says, “women and their sexuality were feared and had to be controlled” (p. 20). He notes that Freud saw religion as a longing for a protective father to shield against Mother Nature. Slipp recalls idols from the Stone Age, idols of the great mother goddess to whom sacrifices were made to ensure fertility, and rebirth. He notes, however, that current feminist fundamentalism that centers on the great mother goddess and a matriarchal culture cannot be supported by scientific evidence. He also notes the paradox that, although women were feared for their mysterious powers, they did not have actual social power and were at the mercy of men. He concludes that women have been feared, demeaned, and controlled from ancient times and that there is no evidence of any golden age of matriarchy (p. 27). Although nature was personified as a woman, both women and nature had to be controlled to ensure survival. This control he says, was accomplished through primitive myths and rituals. This situation prevailed in patriarchal societies from the Stone Age through the Victorian period. As an example of the link between early developmental phenomena and primitive social belief systems Slipp writes that
During normal child development, the infant attempts, through fantasy and magical thinking, to obtain control over the all power