Masculine and feminine forces collided in a philosophical battle of the sexes, as National Book Award-winning poet Robert Bly '50 and Jungian analyst and author Marion Woodman discussed their new jointly-authored book, The Maiden King: The Reunion of Masculine and Feminine, Tuesday night.

Bly's 1990 book, Iron John, a literary exploration of masculinity, garnered critical acclaim and topped The New York Times bestseller list. Bly has since been widely credited with spearheading the men's movement.

Woodman has received praise for bringing the idea of the feminine consciousness to light through her books and other work.

Woodman said she hoped to address during the discussion session the "increasingly urgent need for proper balance between the masculine and feminine."

An eclectic crowd of about 200 students, Harvard colleagues and literature aficionados gathered in the Graduate School of Education's Askwith Lecture Hall for the event.

Despite a dearth of undergraduates, the hall was filled nearly to capacity, and latecomers stood at the rear of the room or knelt on the floor.

Bly and Woodman focused on the Russian folk tale at the heart of their text, the ancient myth of "The Maiden Tsar," during their joint lecture.

The story became a point of departure for their discussion of the power struggle between masculine and feminine consciousness.

Bly began by talking about the roots and traditions of the story.

"There were great philosophers before Jung and Freud but they couldn't put it down in books because there were no books," Bly said. "So they had to invent a story so superb in its detail that it's remembered for 2,000 or 3,000 years."

In its psychological details, Bly said, the tale is "an initiation into feminine for men and women."

However, he corrected himself immediately. "No, initiation's too weak a word. It's an immersion."

Woodman tackled the various representations of the feminine consciousness in the story.

She spoke about "crone energy," the energy of a woman "literally being crowned by her own wisdom."

She also presented a conception of feminine virginity, "virginity in the old sense, like virgin woods that have not been trampled on but are full of all the possibilities of life."