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Title: Ladies of the Rope: Gurdjieff's Special Left Bank Women's Group by Wm. Patrick Patterson, William Patrick Patterson, Barbara C. Allen, Barbara A. Patterson ISBN: 1-879514-41-9 Publisher: Arete Pubns Pub. Date: November, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (9 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: The "Rope"
Comment: Patterson, here, has seized on an aspect of the Fourth Way never brought together or explored by any writer, something new; a group called "The Rope." This group was initially composed of five women, Katherine Hulme, Solita Solano, Louise Davidson, Elizabeth Gordon and Alice Rohrer. Later, Noel Murphy, Margaret Anderson and Georgette Le Blanc joined -- all lesbians but one. The fact that he formed this group at all is surprising considering his traditional position.

As Patterson explains Gurdjieff's idea, "It would be like climbing a high mountain. For safety, each of the members must be roped together, each one thinking of the others, all helping one another..." They decided to call themselves "the Rope."

To these women, Gurdjieff taught the "inner-animal" exercises. Louise he called the "Sardine," to Solita he assigned the "Kanari," Kathryn was "Krokodeel," for Margaret --"Yakina, and to Alice Rohrer "Theen One."

Besides the "inner-aminal" exercise, Patterson fleshes out these remarkable women and the different methods Gurdjieff used to teach them: the practice of self-remembering and self-observation; by example; and finally, teaching them by just his presence alone. The book follows these women beyond Gurdjieff's death to their own demise and the remarkable stories and reflections they give.

A fascinatingly and emotional book by a great storyteller whose insight and questioning brings together a new perspective on Gurdjieff's teaching.

Rating: 5
Summary: Meetings with Remarkable Women
Comment: Why did Mr. Gurdjieff, years after apparently abandoning instruction of groups after the closure of the Prieuré, begin working with this selected group of people? Why these remarkable individuals, all women, all but one lesbian? Why introduce what seems to be a new element of his teaching, the "inner animal"? Was there a new intensity as well, that these women felt themselves embarked on a great expedition, bound together as though a mountain party?

Mr. Patterson does not provide ready answers; rather he mounts an exploration of these questions. Drawing on the personal papers of many of the members of the Rope, he produces a portrait of these notable women against the context of their time. He then follows the development of the group and of the teachings given to them. While some conclusions are reached ("suggested" may be a better word), the value is found in the journey, not in reaching the destination.

With so little attention previously paid to this period of Mr. Gurdjieff's teaching, Mr. Patterson does us the service of seeing Mr. Gurdjieff in action in a particular historical context, and of furthering our understanding of Mr. Gurdjieff's mission.

Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful book, almost poetic. Paul Glutsko
Comment: One may never in their life come to a question of what would the spiritual life of a lesbian be like? Most of us would assume that a spiritual life for a lesbian within authentic, esoteric spiritual discipline is not even possible. But is it really so?
Prior to Patterson's Ladies of the Rope this strange theme - Gurdjieff's creation of a Left Bank group of lesbians - to a large extent remained an avoided and unexplored area. Through the extensive study of materials, which include archives at the Beinecke Library, Yale University, Golda Meir Library at the University of Minnesota, Special Collections Department at the University of Delaware, Library of Congress, and records of Solita Solano, who for many years was Gurdjieff's personal secretary, Patterson undertook a great task of bringing together the life stories of these remarkable women, thus attempting to answer the question of why Gurdjieff broke tradition and created the Rope.
One of the exercises that Gurdjieff gave to his students was to tell their life story. After a period of necessary preparation through the use of the main techniques of the Fourth Way - self-remembering and self-observation, as they were taught then by Gurdjieff- students had to make an impartial inventory of their lives in terms of the impact of different influences, memories, attitudes and beliefs on the formation of their personality.
Through Patterson's gift of "innerstanding," his ability to put himself in the "shoes" of another, these attractive and highly successful women, in ordinary terms, come forward through time and tell us their life stories. We can see them as they are - full of life, passion, contradictions, fears, joys, discoveries and disappointments, successes and failures. We also, without doubt, can recognize the impact of Gurdjieff and his teaching on these women and the subsequent change of meaning and direction of their lives. This story also has many pearls dropped by Gurdjieff, which give a deeper understanding of the nature of man, and his place in the universe to anyone who is interested in the subject of spiritual transformation.
The appendix "Personas & The inner animal" is an uncommon inquiry into Gurdjieff's giving these women animal nicknames as an aspect of the teaching which is connected to understanding one's inner animal.

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