> I believe both milk and honey hold special places in many cultures' belief
> systems because they are the only human foods that don't require killing
> something in order to eat them.  You don't have to kill bees to get honey.
> You don't have to kill an animal (or your mother) in order to get
> nourishment from her mammary glands.  That's why people talk in glowing
> terms about "The Land of Milk and Honey" -- a place where there is plenty
> to
> eat without harming any living creature or plant.
>
>
I really hate to do this, because my background is so lacking in the
kind of science people could reasonably expect of me, quoting Kathy D.
In the course of my doctoral research *on literature* (disclaimer! this
is literature! imagination! the only evidence we can use as a base is
words that have deliberately positioned themselves to be open to
interpretation and reconstruction!) I distinguished between matriarchal
and patriarchal mythical patterns. Since myths are defined only slightly
differently in various disciplines, a feminist approach can be helpful
in uncovering a common ground. The pattern, throughout literary (dare I
say cultural?) history seems to be from matriarchy to patriarchy and, I
hope, back to matriarchy or at least balance; in our personal histories
many of us follow the same pattern, from our mother's arms to
participation in the outside, patriarchal society and back to balance
(often through mothering). I found an abundance of work in the areas of
psychoanalysis, comparative religion, art history as well as literary
criticism to support this pattern, although, to emphasize it once again,
the holes in the science are inevitable and I was unsuccessful in my
attempt to acquire sufficient knowledge in anthropology, psychology,
sociology etc. to draw valid conclusions. (Even one of the members of my
dissertation committee found the theory a little bit too "convenient" --
granted, I started it at the same time as my breastfeeding career and
defended it before my second baby was weaned and it *was* a convenient
way to look at my life, as well as literature. I defended myself by
talking about linking theory and praxis, and that was enough to get his
approval, although he still bugs me about it not being literature.)
Back to the quote: the idea of milk and honey is a powerful metaphor,
because it carries within it the idea of mother's loving milk,
mother-child unity (Keren has a neat word for this, I think -- the
mother self?), a society in which women and children are valued above
all material possessions (the mother's milk is all that is needed) and
there is a connection between people and the earth (all living things).
Kathy's quote seems to be consistent with this vision.
Mind you, this is the kind of totalizing worldview people have a right
to be cautious about. It is also romantic enough to provoke skepticism.
I think I am just trying to find a way to make my volunteer work part of
my ongoing women's studies research. Sorry to digress. I think it is
still breastfeeding related, although not lactation consultant-y.
(Hello? You studied what? And what kind of a word is that?).
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD (Comparative Canadian Literature, with a focus
on women's writing)

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