A grand study of female images in world culture, in which Harvard professor, culturologist and literary critic Maria Tatar challenges the canonical archetypes described by Joseph Campbell. She analyzes the heroine's "journey" through the space of stories to convincingly prove that women are not only mothers, spouses or patron goddesses of heroes. They can fight, cheat, travel and tell stories with their own motives and interests in mind, rather than simply complementing and inspiring men.