Women Who Run with the Wolves

In the tale of Vasalisa and Baba Yaga, Estés uses the protagonist’s completion of the “Wild Goddess’s” impossible tasks to suggest that women must learn to honor their intuition as a powerful, guiding force rather than allowing external pressures to silence their instincts. Vasalisa survives her trials by trusting the wisdom of a small doll—a metaphor for inner knowing. Estés argues that reclaiming this intuitive capacity requires deliberate effort, and she also advocates for the rejection of cultural norms that prioritize logic over instinct. In practical terms, Vasalisa represents the average woman, who must learn to practice mindfulness in order to avoid overanalyzing every decision. Estés suggests that in the real world, leaders might use this approach to overcome ambiguous situations and make decisions based upon core values. This aspect of the text recommends cultivating intuition as a core intelligence: a trend that allows for holistic decision-making and integrates the emotional, the spiritual, and the rational.

Relying upon lessons from folklore, Estés identifies the "inner predator" as a destructive psychological force that seeks to undermine a woman’s confidence and autonomy. This concept is exemplified in the Bluebeard tale, where a woman defies patriarchal control to uncover hidden but essential truths. Using the figure of Bluebeard as a personification of the “dark man” archetype, Estés frames the inner predator as a conglomeration of harmful, internalized societal messages and self-sabotage. Just as the woman and her sisters challenge established boundaries to fight back against the treacherous Bluebeard, Estés contends that confronting the inner predator requires conscious self-reflection and a willingness to name and dismantle destructive habits or beliefs. In real-world applications, this process can be pursued through therapy, but it is also important to set personal boundaries, end toxic relationships, and overcome imposter syndrome to reclaim a sense of authority in life.

Estés presents the life-death-life cycle as an essential metaphor for understanding love, creativity, and transformation. With the story of "Skeleton Woman," Estés shows that love can deepen only after the lovers experience a symbolic death of illusions and embrace a rebirth of genuine intimacy. While the essence of the story focuses on the life-death-life cycle as a blueprint for forging meaningful relationships, the pattern can also be applied in more abstract contexts. For example, the rhythm of a creative project often requires letting go of outdated ideas or identities to make space for new growth. Estés suggests that for personal projects and interpersonal relationships alike, people must reframe periods of upheaval as a necessary part of a cyclical process rather than lamenting such changes as a permanent loss. Estés’s framework therefore encourages people to accept endings as precursors to new beginnings.

Throughout the text, Estés critiques cultural norms that define beauty and creativity in restrictive ways. In the story of "The Red Shoes," the titular shoes become a powerful metaphor for the many ways in which women trade their authentic self-expression for societal approval. As the protagonist suppresses her love of the shoes for the sake of propriety and security, she trains the “Wild Woman” out of herself and ends her life in literal and spiritual poverty. Estés suggests that the suppression of one’s creative instincts is inherently self-destructive and can lead to addiction, burnout, or creative paralysis. She therefore urges women to reject the inauthenticity of external pressures and reclaim their bodies and artistic voices. In practical terms, this might involve rejecting idealized beauty, embracing aging, or enjoying artistic expression for its own sake in order to honor one’s own internal truths.