Esa Roos was born in Helsinki in 1942, where he graduated in psychology in 1971. After training in psychoanalysis (1971-1975) he became Assistant in the Department of Psychology in the University of Helsinki, whilst also working in forensic psychology in both a mental hospital and state prison. He has trained candidates from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Russia, and lectures in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Spain, France and the USA. He is currently a consultant and supervisor at various institutions in Finland.

'This book is a must for people interested in the psychology of women. Using the Medea myth as his starting point, Esa Roos puts together papers that plumb the depths of female aggression, including the unthinkable act of killing one's own children, and ending with a chapter on love and the difficulties of sustaining that state. The chapters in between explore many aspects of the Medea myth in an incredibly creative way: the sacrifice of a woman for a man's love; unreciprocated love and its profound effect; the fate of someone who is taken from their home and made to live in another country; the effects of infertility and fantasies of having murdered the foetus. On this journey one learns much about women's feelings and their complex attachments, including sisterly love, which can either support creativity or lead to self-destruction and destructive relationships. I congratulate all of the authors on an amazing, intriguing and scholarly book that I truly could not put down.'- Carolyn S. Ellman, PhD, Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), New York; co-editor of The Modern Freudians: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Technique'In this fascinating book on the Medea myth, the contributors succeed in encapsulating essential but problematically felt aspects of womanhood. The main focus is on the vulnerability of love, female creativity, and various aspects of violence. Readers from a broad range of different backgrounds will find the book very rewarding.'- Henrik Enckell, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst; Chair of the Consortium for Psychoanalytic Research in Finland'The ancient myths contain insights into the dynamics of the human mind. Oedipusand Narcissus have much to teach us about ourselves, and so has Medea. In this book, seven experienced analysts reflect on analytic material from female patients with the Medea myth as a playground. The result is a fascinating journey into the "dark continent" of the female mind. But it is more than that; Medea's love, and her hate, are not only female passions, they are human. And they concern us all.'- Anders Zachrisson, Associate Professor in Psychology, University of Oslo, and Training and Child Psychoanalyst of the Norwegian Psychoanalytical Society

• Series Editor’s Foreword -- Introduction -- On the Medea fantasy -- The ever present tragedy of Medea: women’s attack on their own creativity -- The age-old myth of Medea and the Medea of Lars von Trier: the story of a woman’s love and compassion rejected -- Medea: maternal ambivalence -- Female destructiveness in fairy tales and myths -- Sister fantasy and sisterly love -- Conflicts around having two mothers: an interview study with a Finnish war child -- On the psychology of love

Esa Roos was born in Helsinki in 1942, where he graduated in psychology in 1971. After training in psychoanalysis (1971-1975) he became Assistant in the Department of Psychology in the University of Helsinki, whilst also working in forensic psychology in both a mental hospital and state prison. He has trained candidates from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Russia, and lectures in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Spain, France and the USA. He is currently a consultant and supervisor at various institutions in Finland.

'This book is a must for people interested in the psychology of women. Using the Medea myth as his starting point, Esa Roos puts together papers that plumb the depths of female aggression, including the unthinkable act of killing one's own children, and ending with a chapter on love and the difficulties of sustaining that state. The chapters in between explore many aspects of the Medea myth in an incredibly creative way: the sacrifice of a woman for a man's love; unreciprocated love and its profound effect; the fate of someone who is taken from their home and made to live in another country; the effects of infertility and fantasies of having murdered the foetus. On this journey one learns much about women's feelings and their complex attachments, including sisterly love, which can either support creativity or lead to self-destruction and destructive relationships. I congratulate all of the authors on an amazing, intriguing and scholarly book that I truly could not put down.'- Carolyn S. Ellman, PhD, Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), New York; co-editor of The Modern Freudians: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Technique'In this fascinating book on the Medea myth, the contributors succeed in encapsulating essential but problematically felt aspects of womanhood. The main focus is on the vulnerability of love, female creativity, and various aspects of violence. Readers from a broad range of different backgrounds will find the book very rewarding.'- Henrik Enckell, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst; Chair of the Consortium for Psychoanalytic Research in Finland'The ancient myths contain insights into the dynamics of the human mind. Oedipusand Narcissus have much to teach us about ourselves, and so has Medea. In this book, seven experienced analysts reflect on analytic material from female patients with the Medea myth as a playground. The result is a fascinating journey into the "dark continent" of the female mind. But it is more than that; Medea's love, and her hate, are not only female passions, they are human. And they concern us all.'- Anders Zachrisson, Associate Professor in Psychology, University of Oslo, and Training and Child Psychoanalyst of the Norwegian Psychoanalytical Society

• Series Editor’s Foreword -- Introduction -- On the Medea fantasy -- The ever present tragedy of Medea: women’s attack on their own creativity -- The age-old myth of Medea and the Medea of Lars von Trier: the story of a woman’s love and compassion rejected -- Medea: maternal ambivalence -- Female destructiveness in fairy tales and myths -- Sister fantasy and sisterly love -- Conflicts around having two mothers: an interview study with a Finnish war child -- On the psychology of love

Esa Roos was born in Helsinki in 1942, where he graduated in psychology in 1971. After training in psychoanalysis (1971-1975) he became Assistant in the Department of Psychology in the University of Helsinki, whilst also working in forensic psychology in both a mental hospital and state prison. He has trained candidates from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Russia, and lectures in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Spain, France and the USA. He is currently a consultant and supervisor at various institutions in Finland.

'This book is a must for people interested in the psychology of women. Using the Medea myth as his starting point, Esa Roos puts together papers that plumb the depths of female aggression, including the unthinkable act of killing one's own children, and ending with a chapter on love and the difficulties of sustaining that state. The chapters in between explore many aspects of the Medea myth in an incredibly creative way: the sacrifice of a woman for a man's love; unreciprocated love and its profound effect; the fate of someone who is taken from their home and made to live in another country; the effects of infertility and fantasies of having murdered the foetus. On this journey one learns much about women's feelings and their complex attachments, including sisterly love, which can either support creativity or lead to self-destruction and destructive relationships. I congratulate all of the authors on an amazing, intriguing and scholarly book that I truly could not put down.'- Carolyn S. Ellman, PhD, Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), New York; co-editor of The Modern Freudians: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Technique'In this fascinating book on the Medea myth, the contributors succeed in encapsulating essential but problematically felt aspects of womanhood. The main focus is on the vulnerability of love, female creativity, and various aspects of violence. Readers from a broad range of different backgrounds will find the book very rewarding.'- Henrik Enckell, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst; Chair of the Consortium for Psychoanalytic Research in Finland'The ancient myths contain insights into the dynamics of the human mind. Oedipusand Narcissus have much to teach us about ourselves, and so has Medea. In this book, seven experienced analysts reflect on analytic material from female patients with the Medea myth as a playground. The result is a fascinating journey into the "dark continent" of the female mind. But it is more than that; Medea's love, and her hate, are not only female passions, they are human. And they concern us all.'- Anders Zachrisson, Associate Professor in Psychology, University of Oslo, and Training and Child Psychoanalyst of the Norwegian Psychoanalytical Society

• Series Editor’s Foreword -- Introduction -- On the Medea fantasy -- The ever present tragedy of Medea: women’s attack on their own creativity -- The age-old myth of Medea and the Medea of Lars von Trier: the story of a woman’s love and compassion rejected -- Medea: maternal ambivalence -- Female destructiveness in fairy tales and myths -- Sister fantasy and sisterly love -- Conflicts around having two mothers: an interview study with a Finnish war child -- On the psychology of love