The Fear of the Feminine: The Collected Essays of Erich Neumann, Volume 4

By Erich Neumann

Book Overview

An insightful exploration of the unconscious fear of the feminine by a pioneering Jungian psychologist

Erich Neumann was one of C. G. Jung's most brilliant students and a renowned practitioner of analytical psychology in his own right. This landmark book brings together five of his most illuminating essays on feminine psychology. Neumann discusses the psychological stages of woman's development, the moon and matriarchal consciousness, Mozart's Magic Flute, the meaning of the earth archetype for modern times, and the fear of the feminine. He sees in Mozart's fantastical realm a clash and true coming to terms of the matriarchal and patriarchal worlds. Reflecting a timely concern about the one-sidedness of patriarchal Western civilization, The Fear of the Feminine explains why a synthesis of the feminine and the masculine in the psychic reality of both the individual and the collective is one of the fundamental tasks of contemporary society.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691279225
• ISBN13: 9780691279220
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Veil is Lifted

Neumann's insight of this intricate psychology simply amazed me. I read this book a couple of years ago so I have a difficult time recalling particular passages. What did strike me though was how the fear of the feminine, is so often morphed into the blaming of 'woman.' What I took from this book is that the fear of the feminine, is the fear of coming to consciousness, a fear of developing a deeper relationship to one's self or soul. Unfortunately, this fear of the feminine principal often becomes distorted and turned into humanity's fear of 'woman.' What is feared, ultimately, is what grants freedom. In other words, like Eve, the feminine principal may seduce, but it is in the call to higher consciousness. Mel Mathews is the author of several novels, including: LeRoi, Menopause Man, and SamSara...