The Sibling Society An Impassioned Call for

Where have all the grownups gone? In answering that question with the same freewheeling erudition and intuitive brilliance that made Iron John a national bestseller, poet, storyteller and translator Robert Bly tells us that we live in a "sibling society, " in which adults have regressed into adolescence and adolescents refuse to grow up.

Robert Bly is an American Poet Laureate who has authored, edited, and translated numerous books of poetry and prose, including Iron John.

Introduction

vii

Part One: Jack, the Beanstalk, and the Half-Adult

3

(64)

1 The Woodstock Moment

3

(5)

2 Jack, the Beanstalk, and the Giant with a Large Appetite

8

(36)

First Interruption: What Is the Giant?

16

(15)

Second Interruption: Where Have All the Parents Gone?

31

(13)

3 Swimming Among the Half-Adults

44

(23)

Part Two: Inside Families

67

(80)

4 The Adventures of Ganesha: A Hindu Story

67

(22)

5 The Wild Girl and Her Sister: A Norwegian Story

89

(13)

6 What Do Daughters Stand to Lose or Gain in a Sibling Society?

102

(14)

7 What Do Sons Stand to Lose or Gain in a Sibling Society?

116

(15)

8 Disdain and Contempt for Children in the Sibling Society

131

(16)

Part Three: Outside the Family

147

(38)

9 Benjamin Franklin's Pig: Economics and Our Heaviness of Heart

147

(12)

10 Teaching Our Children That Nothing Works

159

(6)

11 Looking at Women's and Men's Movements from Inside the Sibling House

165

(20)

Part Four: Culture

185

(44)

12 Exultation in the Midst of Flatness

185

(9)

13 The Difficulty of Understanding Mythology in the Sibling Culture

194

(14)

14 What Is Vertical Thought?

208

(11)

15 The Snake That Wants to Eat All Its Brides: A Swedish Story

219

(10)

Epilogue

229

(12)

Notes

241

(42)

Bibliography

283

(14)

Acknowledgments

297

(2)

Copyright Acknowledgments

299

(4)

Index

303

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The Sibling Society An Impassioned Call for the Rediscovery of Adulthood

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials