Aspects of the Feminine: (From Volumes 6, 7, 9i, 9ii, 10, 17, Collected Works) (Bollingen)

This is a relatively short book that covers the evolution of Jung's thought on such topics as the relationship between the worship of women and the soul, marriage and the contrasexual images that live inside of every man and woman.

This book also contains basic information on what is an archetype and an essay on the mother archetype and as well as the mother complex. The third section contains an essay on the psychological aspects of Kore and another on the Shadow and Syzgy.

The most useful and interesting parts of the book for me were in the first section. In particular, I got a lot out of the essay entitled, "The Love Problem of a Student" and "Anima and Animus." The Anima/Animus lecture in particular had some very useful insights that help one to understand relationship and these archetypes as a means for the Self to connect to the soul in a similar way that the persona helps a person connect outwardly.

Jung is often difficult to follow and he can meander a lot. However, this essay format makes difficult concepts more digestible. Also, they are arranged in a logical way that allows you to follow the development of Jung's thought on these topics without wading through a lot of unnecessary reading.

This volume is a selection of writings from the Collected Works of Carl Jung (1875-1961), a selection focusing on the "feminine". In Jung's psychology, the "feminine" can mean several things, including: (1) the consciousness of real females; (2) an aspect of the Unconscious in males called the "anima"; and (3) an archetype of the creative matrix of existence in all human beings. The writings in this volume discuss principally the second and third of those. These selections are in chronological order, so one can trace the development of Jung's ideas. Several mention the interactions of "anima" and "animus" (the unconscious contrasexual elements, in men and women respectively, which play a vital role in both romance and spiritual unfolding) - indeed, that is the main subject of the earlier selection from "Relations of the Ego and Unconscious" (1928) as well as the closing selection from "Aion" (1959). The long central selection, "Psychological Aspects of the Mother Archetype", and "The Psychological Aspects of the Kore" both use mythology to illustrate what Jung saw as fundamental psychological issues for all human beings. This book would be disappointing for someone looking specifically for writings on women's issues; however, anima & animus are central ideas in Jung's conception of gender relations, and his clearest expositions of those subjects are collected here. Furthermore, this book would be of great interest to anyone looking at larger issues of how the "feminine" is conceived across cultures and across time.

This volume is a selection of writings from the Collected Works of Carl Jung (1875-1961), a selection focusing on the "feminine". In Jung's psychology, the "feminine" can mean several things, including: (1) the consciousness of real females; (2) an aspect of the Unconscious in males called the "anima"; and (3) an archetype of the creative matrix of existence in all human beings. The writings in this volume discuss principally the second and third of those. These selections are in chronological order, so one can trace the development of Jung's ideas. Several mention the interactions of "anima" and "animus" (the unconscious contrasexual elements, in men and women respectively, which play a vital role in both romance and spiritual unfolding) - indeed, that is the main subject of the earlier selection from "Relations of the Ego and Unconscious" (1928) as well as the closing selection from "Aion" (1959). The long central selection, "Psychological Aspects of the Mother Archetype", and "The Psychological Aspects of the Kore" both use mythology to illustrate what Jung saw as fundamental psychological issues for all human beings. This book would be disappointing for someone looking specifically for writings on women's issues; however, anima & animus are central ideas in Jung's conception of gender relations, and his clearest expositions of those subjects are collected here. Furthermore, this book would be of great interest to anyone looking at larger issues of how the "feminine" is conceived across cultures and across time.