Lilian Staveley

Lilian Staveley (1878-1928) was a Christian writer and mystic whose anonymous works have only recently been credited to her. One of the dilemmas that Staveley struggled with was that of the 'feminine principle'. She saw across history and religion a tendency by those in religious power, (by men who were otherwise great and holy), to look down on womankind. She feared that in God's eyes also she was not of the 'acceptable sex'. This apparent disparagement she could not understand: "What profound...See more

Lilian Staveley (1878-1928) was a Christian writer and mystic whose anonymous works have only recently been credited to her. One of the dilemmas that Staveley struggled with was that of the 'feminine principle'. She saw across history and religion a tendency by those in religious power, (by men who were otherwise great and holy), to look down on womankind. She feared that in God's eyes also she was not of the 'acceptable sex'. This apparent disparagement she could not understand: "What profound injustice-to suffer so much and to receive no recognition whatever whilst men walked off with all the joys after leading very questionable lives!" For several years her shame at being a woman was such that, although she continued to believe in and pay homage to her Lord, she could do so only with a certain reverent sadness, and not with love. "Almighty God, if it is Thy Will to blot out Woman from Paradise I most humbly assure Thee of this-Man will miss her sorely; and Thou Thyself, Almighty God, when Thou dost visit Paradise, wilt miss her also!" Eventually Staveley came to the conclusion that, the arrogance of certain men aside; "Clothed in the body of either man or woman, the soul is predominantly feminine-the Feminine Principle beloved of, and returning to, the Eternal Masculine of God." The spiritual journey of each soul is a journey shared alike by man and by woman. Legacy In his book Modern Mystics (London: John Murray, 1935; reprinted New York: University Books, 1970), Sir Francis Younghusband (a writer, diplomat, and Himalayan explorer) explicitly compares Lilian Staveley with the likes of Ramakrishna and St. Therese de Lisieux. Younghusband also points out that the spiritual experiences Lilian Staveley describes bear "remarkable resemblances to the experiences of Hindu mystics." Her writings were also known to Evelyn Underhill, a respected authority on comparative mysticism, as well as to Frithjof Schuon, a preeminent writer in the Perennialist school of comparative religion See less