The Descent of Inanna: A Study of the Loss of Self in Domestic Violence

Abstract

Emotional and psychological abuse are often overlooked as forms of domestic violence because they are neither against the law nor necessarily visible to the onlooker. Yet, the daily barrage against the victim diminishes their understanding of themself and undermines their relationship to the world. In this study, I use an autoethnographic method to explore the experience of emotional and psychological abuse within an intimate relationship. Overlaying my story with a variation of the Myth of the Descent of Inanna, allows the segmentation of my experiences into seven clear categories. Although these ‘gates’ make for a non-linear story telling method, they allow for a means to understand the implications of emotional and psychological abuse on the various aspects of my own life. These gates are labeled (a) control; (b) objects; (c) comfort; (d) community; (e) identity; (f) madness, and; (g) death. They can be used to not only understand the descent of an individual in domestic violence, but also in the ascent – the recovery from abuse.