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the National History Museum in Oxford,
which houses the remains of the “Red Lady
of Paviland” – the oldest human remains
found in the United Kingdom, believed to
date back to the Paleolithic era.
The capstone experience of her fifteen-day
journey through Europe was attending the
summer solstice at Stonehenge. 30,000
pagans gathered for the occasion. Many of
these pagans also identify themselves as
Christians, but their beliefs that women possess
spiritual connections to life and death
and are connected to the seasons and cycles
that plug into the divine current associate
them with pagan beliefs. Cooperstein
met a woman at the solstice named Erika
Devine who practices natural childrearing
and is grounded in many of the old spiritual
roots. She believes that these practices
empower women with children because
childbirth and childrearing are connected
to the cycle of life. Cooperstein remains in
contact with Erika who has shared person-
17
Cooperstein
al anecdotes on the modern aspect of the
Divine Feminine. Cooperstein plans to do a
comparative analysis between Europe and
Appalachia through the comparison of two
women in each location, focusing on the
act of reproduction as empowerment and
the importance of spiritual equality and
equilibrium between the sexes.
Through her research Cooperstein hopes
to convey the value of Appalachian culture
and the importance of recording its old legends
and beliefs before they are erased
by the influences of popular culture. It is
a sub-culture that is heavily stereotyped
and underrepresented in the scholastic
field, and while it may not be a progressive
culture, the Scots-Irish identity that heavily
influences Appalachia and emphasizes
the importance of family and procreation,
is rooted to the Divine Feminine and has
much to contribute to literature and other
modes of cultural study.
Kathleen Cooperstein in London on her way to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream
at the Globe Theatre in London
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