Animus and Anima: Two Papers [Paperback]

Emma Jung (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1985

On the Nature of the Animus and The Anima as an Elemental Being: two classic papers on the psyche written by Emma Jung (1882 1955), psychoanalyst, writer, and wife of C.G. Jung. First published in English in 1955, they are required reading for training Jungian analysts. How do animus and anima, these all-important Jungian concepts, appear in dreams, fantasies, behavior, and mythology? This book maps a way toward an understanding of the union of opposites and the emergence of the self. There is wisdom in Emma Jung's words, simplicity in her style, and we feel the movement of animus and anima in her soul.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

About the Author

Emma Jung (1882-1955) was the wife of the famous Swiss psychologist C.G. Jung. >

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Spring Publications, Inc.; Second edition (September 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882143018
• ISBN-13: 978-0882143019
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important work, March 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Animus and Anima: Two Papers (Paperback)

Written by the wife of psychologist C.G. Jung, who first proposed the terms Anima and Animus in the psychological context presented here, this book by Emma Jung provides a fuller and more balanced description of these two functions of the psyche than exists in her husband's collected works. C.G. Jung, who also coined the terms Extravert and Introvert, developed the idea of the Anima and Animus from his analytical practice and from examining his own psychology. Jung recognised that there is an inferior feminine orientation in the male psyche which he named the Anima, from the Latin word for spirit, and an inferior masculine orientation in the female psyche which he called the Animus. From Jung's observations during the analysis of his patients, he recognised the Anima and Animus to be unconscious elements of the psyche which needed to be developed, or made conscious, by the individual in order for the individual to maintain a healthy, balanced outlook in personal relationships and on the world at large. The Anima in a man, Jung maintained, is a mostly personal image of Woman within his psyche which each man carries with him through life. This image, or inner psychic reality, is a composition of a man's experiences of feminity from childhood on, which is combined also with ancestral and archaic collective impressions of feminity. Jung maintained that it was the Anima which was responsible for a man becoming attracted to women, but only certain women, those who are close in character to this inner experience of femininity in the man's psyche. In women, the Animus plays a similar role of defining the masculine side of a woman's personality. Emma Jung's major contribution with her book is her expansion on the concept of the Animus. C.G. Jung wrote much less about the Animus than about the Anima and Emma Jung's further development of the Animus concept in this book provides for a balanced comparison of the two concepts which were simply not available in such depth and detail before. Certainly no mere restating of what C.G. Jung already said, this book further develops the frame of reference established by Jung. It has maintained its status as a landmark work in this difficult yet relevant and very human field of psychological investigation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A diligent mind, October 7, 2010

By 

Althea (Olympic Peninsula, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animus and Anima: Two Papers (Paperback)

Unless you're studying to become an analyst, C.G . Jung's philosophy is best absorbed in small doses. The information can be sprawling, tangential, and so steeped in mythological reference that it's overwhelming. This concise little book, by his wife and psychoanalytic partner, singles out an important aspect of his work--the Anima and Animus elements--and presents an in-depth and uncluttered investigation, without the customary overload.

Emma Jung's writing style is direct and clear, and there is a certain personal warmth to her approach, especially in the Animus essay, where her findings are often based on her own experiences. Since this essay was written in 1931 there are, of course, certain dated stereotypes functioning, but I didn't find this too problematic. In traveling the nebulous realms of the mind, one has to start with a few concrete suppositions; they may turn out to be false support, but they can also provide a springboard for the evolution of more complex and innovative thoughts. For instance, I was a little offended by this statement: "It is well known that a really creative faculty of mind is a rare thing in a woman." What?!? Eighty years later, this has been proven untrue--it was only that the opportunity to develop and display that creativity was still quite limited. But then she goes on to say that a woman's creativity finds expression in the development of relationships, and that interaction with others is the real field of her creative power. Eighty years later, this is still true--it's certainly not the only field of our creative endeavor, but it is where our strengths are still most needed, and our deepest satisfactions often most realized.

The Anima essay, written in 1955, presents fewer personal views, and relies more on myth, legend, and fairy tale to substantiate the psychic reality of the Anima archetype. Emma Jung, astutely self-educated, here displays a wide knowledge of, and understanding of, the feminine force in literature.

Why read work that is so dated? Because the question of the union of opposite forces in the personality is still of concern. Recognizing the archetypes that are at work is part of the move toward integration and Emma Jung's observations remain valid and illuminating. Plus, there is a rich curiosity, a diligent mind, and a sincere energy in evidence on every page. That's enough for me.

8 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars regurgitated Jung...., June 1, 2000

By 

Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animus and Anima: Two Papers (Paperback)

....with all the stereotypical interpretations intact. Recommended only as an intro to the Jungian anima/animus ideas, but fully sharing Jung's own equation of femininity with yin, receptive, emotional, irrational and masculinity with yang, active, intellectual, rational.