ABSTRACT
In Chapter 8, Dorothy Holmes discusses the case of Elizabeth from multiple perspectives, with particular focus on how a woman’s ambitions can be derailed, clouded, corrupted, or “othered.” Dr. Holmes begins her discussion with a consideration of Elizabeth’s complex familial identifications, which Elizabeth held with sadness and ambivalence and that may have led to her success neurosis. Drawing from a variety of works, including her own, Holmes also explores the dark forces, impacting women and their pursuits that are particularly important when considering derailed ambition in minority women and women of color in academia. Holmes emphasizes that there are numerous historical and cultural factors that limit a woman’s ambition and that a psychoanalytic treatment is often incomplete if it does not address their specific impact. Holmes also makes a strong case for the importance of considering the role of our “American Identity,” especially our cultural practice of “othering” women, and women minorities in particular.
