Home > JOURNALSANDNEWSLETTERS > INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL STUDIES > Vol. 28 (2009) > Iss. 1
DOI
10.24972/ijts.2009.28.1.25
Abstract
This paper explores postmodern and Shakespearean-baroque parallels in asking, “Can we
make a New World?” In Shakespeare’s case, paradigm shift was occurring willy-nilly—a New
World hoving into view, geographically, socio-politically, spiritually, and through a science
that shifted views of earth and heaven. This inquiry into The Winter’s Tale, in search of a
new coherence then and now, discovers that Shakespeare envisioned a rebalancing of hypermasculine
internal and external life by way of the Feminine, both youthful and mature.
Portraying the tragic ruler at the center of his tale as part puer and part jealous tyrant, Shakespeare
established what is almost a case history, one that serves to type the Masculine that
lacks balance. He viewed the Feminine in vividly drawn characters, but also as archetypes; as
to the youthful and mature Feminine, he matched these respectively—although not exclusively—
with virtues of fertile natural renewal and compassionate advocacy of social justice.
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Recommended Citation
Schavrien, J. (2009). Schavrien, J. (2009). Paradigm shift, then and now: The Shakespearean Winter’s tale and renewal through the feminine. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 28(1), 25–38.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 28 (1). https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2009.28.1.25