The Wisdom of the Underworld: Clarissa Pinkola Estés and the Hero’s Journey Through Darkness
Understanding the Origins of This Powerful Quote
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, the Latina-Hungarian poet, psychoanalyst, and author, crafted this particular quote during her years of clinical practice. She deepened her engagement with archetypal psychology through extensive work with trauma survivors. Her exploration of myth likely shaped this statement. The quote encapsulates a philosophy that runs through much of her most celebrated work, particularly her bestselling book “Women Who Run with the Wolves,” published in 1992. Though the quote is often attributed to Estés and circulates widely on social media and in self-help circles, it captures the essence of her therapeutic approach.
This approach weaves together Jungian psychology, folklore, and what she calls “the old stories”—tales that carry psychological wisdom accumulated across generations. The “hell” she references is not a religious punishment. Rather, it is a psychological descent into our own darkness. It encompasses painful encounters with trauma, loss, limitation, and the unconscious self that every meaningful soul must navigate.
Born in 1945 in Los Angeles, Estés had a Mexican mother and Hungarian father. She grew up immersed in storytelling traditions from both cultures. This inheritance became the cornerstone of her life’s work. Her parents were immigrants seeking better lives in America. Their narratives of struggle, resilience, and cultural displacement shaped young Clarissa’s understanding of the human capacity to endure and transform suffering. She earned her Ph.D. in ethno-clinical psychology. She spent decades studying the folklore, mythology, and oral traditions of Latin American, European, and Native American cultures. This wasn’t merely academic interest but spiritual research. Estés understood that the stories people told held within them maps of the psyche. They were blueprints for survival and wisdom. She became a licensed psychotherapist, working with trauma survivors, refugees, and individuals recovering from abuse. This work gave her an intimate understanding of how souls are broken and how they heal.
What Does All Strong Souls First Go to Hell Mean
One of the lesser-known aspects of Estés’s life is her profound spiritual seeking. She engaged with various religious and spiritual traditions beyond the Christian framework in which she was raised. She spent time studying with indigenous teachers. She immersed herself in the wisdom of curandera traditions. She deepened her knowledge of Jungian analysis. Her work in the 1980s and early 1990s, before “Women Who Run with the Wolves” became a cultural phenomenon, faced dismissal from mainstream academic psychology. Scholars found her approach too mystical, too narrative-based, too focused on intuition and the unconscious rather than measurable outcomes. Additionally, Estés is a longtime activist for social justice, particularly for refugees and immigrants. She has worked extensively with asylum seekers and individuals fleeing violence. Her commitment to these populations directly informed her understanding. She recognized that trauma and survival are not merely individual psychological matters but deeply political ones.
When “Women Who Run with the Wolves” was published, it became a surprise bestseller. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over 200 weeks. The book transformed Estés into a public intellectual. The book consists of interconnected essays built around myths, fairy tales, and psychological analysis. Estés aimed to recover the instinctual, creative, and wild nature of women. She believed patriarchal culture had suppressed this nature. The quote in question—about strong souls going to hell—became representative of her larger thesis.
Psychological and spiritual development requires descent, she argued. This idea was not original to Estés. It echoes the hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campbell. It reflects underworld descents in mythology from Persephone to Inanna to Orpheus. It connects to the Jungian concept of individuation, which demands engagement with one’s shadow. However, Estés articulated this concept in a distinctly contemporary and accessible way. She spoke directly to readers who had experienced trauma and were seeking meaning in their suffering.
How This Quote Inspires Healing and Redemption Today
The cultural impact of this quote and Estés’s philosophy cannot be overstated. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, her work became a touchstone for a particular strain of feminist spirituality. It also influenced what might be called “empowerment psychology.” This approach emphasized resilience, the redemptive power of storytelling, and the notion that one’s wounds could become one’s gifts. The quote circulated in women’s groups, therapy offices, rehabilitation centers, and yoga studios. Trauma survivors seeking validation embraced it. They found purpose in their pain. Women reclaiming their power connected with it.
Anyone who had experienced psychological or spiritual crisis found resonance in her words. However, this popularization also led to certain critiques. Some scholars and therapists argued that Estés’s work, while inspirational, sometimes romanticized suffering. Others contended that she oversimplified the complex realities of trauma recovery. Some pointed out that not all suffering necessarily leads to wisdom or transformation. Sometimes trauma simply breaks people. It is dangerous to suggest that pain always has a silver lining.
Yet for many readers and clients, the quote’s power lay precisely in its assertion that descent is not meaningless. In a culture that often pathologizes sadness, Estés offered a different framework. We insist on quick recovery and positive thinking. We treat depression as a disease to be eradicated rather than a message to be understood. She suggested that the “hell” one experiences is not a detour from meaningful life but potentially central to it. The dark night of the soul matters. The abyss of loss or betrayal or failure shapes us. The second part of her quote is equally important: the return, the healing of others. She was articulating