Bly’s Concept of the ‘Wild Man’

Gordon asserts that Bly is anti-feminine because women are excluded from his workshops and retreats. Thousands of workshops are held yearly in this country exclusively for women, and yet she hasn’t decried them because they were “anti-male.”

Gordon contends that Bly is a misogynist, celebrates aggression and calls for “reconsideration of the virtues of male domination.” This is a curious charge because throughout his book, Bly assails the legacy of male dominance of women, urging men to redefine their roles and to embrace their humanity.

What was most disturbing, however, was Gordon’s literary parallel between Bly’s concept of the “wild man” and recent “wilding” incidents. For Bly repeatedly makes a point of emphasizing that the wild man represents the lost humanity of men--passion, conviction, the ability to love and nurture, and more than anything else, to feel one’s feelings deeply.

RICHARD E. SHERMAN

Los Angeles