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Nine Herman's book explores the ambivalence of the mother-daughter relationship: the struggle by mothers and daughters to be free and autonomous versus the longing for and fear of symbiotic union.
Using examples from myth and literature as well as real women from Mediaeval times to the present day, Herman reveals the universality of this conflict throughout the ages.
The author takes an optimistic view. She sees a gradual resolution with each generation contributing to the freedom of the next. In our own society she sees the most hope and attributes this both to the greater opportunity for women to develop outside the home and the greater availability of the father, who will help both wife and daughter with the task of separation.
If at times the language is rather flowery and the theme repetitive it is nonetheless a fascinating book and a considerable achievement. It is not a psychoanalytic textbook, although Herman uses psychoanalytic insights to develop her theme. It will be read by anyone who has an interest in women and their struggle for independence.