Sexual Personae -

In Paglia's view, art is the battlefield where these forces meet. From the regal, rigid beauty of to the internal, explosive poetry of Emily Dickinson , she traces how artists have attempted to trap the "Dionysian" within "Apollonian" forms. A Provocative Worldview

: This is the "female" force of nature—chaos, instinct, and the primal urges that civilization tries to suppress but can never fully extinguish. Sexual Personae

: Paglia posits that men created civilization as a defensive "Apollonian" response to the overwhelming power of women and nature. In Paglia's view, art is the battlefield where

Paglia's story of Western culture is defined by a central conflict between two ancient Greek forces: In Paglia's view

: This represents order, logic, and the "male" drive to build, categorize, and create a safe structure for society.