The Rise and Fall of Patriarchy: Herstory

The patriarchy has not been with us forever despite those who make that claim for it. There is solid archaeological evidence that prior to the late neolithic period (around 2500 B.C.E.) human communities were generally egalitarian or matriarchal and had been for at least 30,000 years. But then a combination of environmental and social forces drove a dramatic change: men became the masters and the lawgivers and repressed any resistance to their dominion at the personal as well as at the religious, social and political levels. Patriarchy became established as the leading societal model in the historic western world. Now in the early 21st century, after 4500 years of patriarchy's reign in all its various forms, we can draw the balance: endless wars, massive personal suffering, enormous imbalances in the allocation of the basic necessities of life and the destruction of the natural world to such an extent that humanity's continued existence is in question. We can with confidence declare patriarchy a dramatically failed experiment. How did this happen? Why did this happen? And most importantly – is there a way out of this nightmare and away from the apparently endless struggle for material accumulation and power at the cost of life itself? Is there a way forward into some more sustainable future? This novel attempts to answer exactly those questions. And it does so at a very personal level: the level of lived experience. It takes the case of Martyna, an 89 year old woman in southern Germany who in April of 2015 C.E. has a strange dream during her afternoon nap, then dies of a heart attack. This novel is HerStory. After her death she is surprised to encounter a stranger named Lela who says she is there to help Martyna "find her way forward." But Martyna refuses to go forward. Instead she demands an explanation for the terrible state of the world. None of it makes any sense to her. Why is there so much needless suffering? Why are women forced to follow the rules of the men or face terrible consequences? Lela agrees to help her find answers to her questions. And so Martyna starts on a journey of remembered lives spanning the 4500 years of patriarchal oppression. Buckle your seat-belt, dear reader. It is a terrifying ride.