ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the mythic trope of the trickster and the trickstar, the female version of the trickster, as captured in the folktale Arabian Nights and the Sumerian myth “Inanna and the God of Wisdom.” By tracing the places where the diarist intersects with the trickstar/trickster archetype, I show that it is a central myth of the diarist. The trickstar shows us that storytelling is both archetypal and physical, creating a link between the body and the imaginal psyche, both essential in Nin’s diaries. My analysis illustrates that the myth of the trickstar as an archetypal phenomenon fosters a better understanding of the polyvocal texture of Nin’s diary, including the femme fatale.
