Quintessance Book

Devotees of the visionary feminist philosopher Mary Daly will be delighted by this call to action against the "necrotechnologists" of genetic research and the advances of right-wing religious fundamentalism. In Pure Lust (1984), Daly posited the importance of four elements: words, substances, the cosmos, and spirits. "Quintessence," as she describes it, is the connecting fifth element, "the Source of our power to Realize a true Future." Tapping into Quintessence, she argues, can enable us to name and confront "the escalating atrocities ... against women and nature and [summon] Courage and Hope to transcend [them]." To soften her grim depiction of the present moment, Daly has cleverly presented this new book as its own 50th-anniversary edition (2048 in the "biophilic era"), appearing at a time when women have banded together and learned how to summon and direct their psychic energies. They have, in fact, saved the world. Each chapter concludes with comments by Annie, an ardent young woman of that period, who has invoked Mary Daly in order to ask her about the bad old days of the late 20th century, while Daly herself gasps with amazement at the clean water, fresh air, and sweet-smelling blossoms of the idyllic future. --Regina Marler