Anima/Animus

1. Anima/Animus “When animus and anima meet, the animus draws his sword of power and the anima ejects her poison of illusion and seduction” (Jung 172).

2. In a 2009 Harvard study, these images explore our societal assumptions on gender. Which image is male and which is female? The answer is surprising… Anima/Animus Defined • Anima in Latin translates as the soul but in Jung’s world “Anima is the soul-image of man, represented in dreams or fantasies by a feminine figure…The animus is the image of spiritual forces in a woman, symbolized by a masculine figure. If a man or woman is unconscious of these inner forces, they appear in a projection” (Jung 109). • The Animus, translating in Latin to the mind or spirit, also encapsulates a differing meaning in Jung’s system of psychology, “Every man carries within him the eternal image of woman…The same is true of the woman: she too has her inborn image of man…it is always unconsciously projected upon the person of the beloved, and is one of the chief reasons for passionate attraction or aversion” (Jung 50).

3. Anima – The Feminine within the Masculine • “The anima is a factor of utmost importance in the psychology of man wherever emotions and affects are at work. She intensifies, exaggerates, falsifies, and mythologizes all emotional relations with his work and with other people of both sexes” (Jung 120). • “When the anima is strongly constellated, she softens the man’s character and makes him touchy, irritable, moody, jealous, vain, and unadjusted” (Jung 120). The Anima Sola or “forsaken soul” is a popular religious folk image in portions of Latin America.

4. Anima – The Feminine within the Masculine • “No man is so entirely masculine that he has nothing feminine in him. The fact is, rather, that very masculine men have – carefully guarded and hidden – a very soft emotional life, often incorrectly labeled as ‘feminine’…which is why a man, in his love choice, is strongly tempted to win the woman who best corresponds to his own unconscious femininity” (Jung 78).

5. Animus – The Masculine within the Feminine • “In woman the compensating figure is of a masculine character, and can therefore appropriately be termed the animus…There are naturally fields of experience in a man which, for woman, are still wrapped in the shadows of non-differentiation, chiefly things in which she has no interest…The wide realms of commerce, politics, technology, and science” (Jung 94-95). The Hindu goddess Durga (or Kali) is a female figure that fully embodies what is traditionally seen as “male” ferocity…

6. Anima and Animus Contrasted • “The inner masculine side of a woman brings forth creative seeds which have power to fertilize the feminine side of man” (Jung 98). • “Whereas the man has, floating before him, in clear outlines, the alluring form of a Circe or a Calypso, the animus is better expressed as a bevy of Flying Dutchmen or unknown wanderers from over the sea” (Jung 99).

7. Anima and Animus Contrasted • “In men, Eros, the function of relationship, is usually less developed than Logos. In women, on the other hand, Eros is an expression of their true nature, while their Logos is often only a regrettable accident” (Jung 171). • “The anima gives relationship and relatedness to man’s consciousness, the animus gives to woman’s consciousness a capacity for reflection, deliberation, and self-knowledge” (Jung 172).

8. Initial Stages of Love as Projection • “No man can converse with an animus for five minutes without becoming victim of his own anima” (Jung 172). • “The young person of marriageable age does…possess an ego-consciousness…but, since he has only recently emerged from the mists of original unconsciousness, he is certain to have wide areas which still lie in the shadow…The young man (or woman) can have only an incomplete understanding of himself and others, and is therefore imperfectly informed” (Jung 42). As we explore both the written play and film adaptations of Shakespeare’s well-known love story, keep considering if the protagonists are experienced enough to truly be in love or if what they define as love is only mere infatuation (projection).

9. Romeo & Juliet Timeline – True Love (and Death) in Less Than A Week Sunday, Day 1 – Act I, first part of Act II Monday, Day 2 – Act II, Sc. II – Act III, Sc. IV Tuesday, Day 3 – Act III, Sc. V – Act IV, Sc. III Wednesday, Day 4 – Act IV, Sc. IV – Act IV, Sc. V Thursday, Day 5 – Act V, Sc. I – Act V, middle of Sc. III Friday, Day 6 - Act V, middle to end of Act V, Sc. III

10. Initial Stages of Love as Projection • “It is easier to gain insight into the shadow than the anima or animus…everyone immediately understands what is meant by ‘shadow’…With the anima and animus, however, things are by no means so simple…It is much more difficult to become conscious of one’s own anima/animus projections than to acknowledge one’s shadow side” (Jung 174). In this photo, the idea of blissfully unaware projecting lovers is encapsulated. Although the diagonal lines indicate this is a stock photo, they can be additionally viewed as indicators that we should try to lessen the amount/ duration of anima/animus projection within the stages of love.

11. Initial Stages of Love as Projection • “The integration of the shadow, or the realization of the personal unconscious, marks the first stage…without it a recognition of anima and animus is impossible…The shadow can be realized only through a relation to a partner, and anima and animus only through relation to a partner of the opposite sex” (Jung 179).

12. Literary Application – Anima/Animus • In Ursula LeGuin’s fantasy novel The Tombs of Atuan, Tenar has lost her name and sense of identity serving as the high priestess to the powers of darkness. But when an intruder breaks into the sacred labrynth and sheds his forbidden light, Tenar does not kill the interloper. Instead she feels an instant connection between them, “This faint blooming light where no light had ever been, in the inmost grave of darkness…The light burned at the end of a staff of wood…The staff was held by a human hand…What was hardest for her to think, perhaps, was that she was looking at a stranger” (LeGuin 69-70). The contrast between Tenar and Sparrowhawk is paramount – her darkness against his light, her sense of infallible touch versus his intense sight, his intelligence juxtaposed with her intuition. But it is the underlying current of understanding that flows between them that becomes ultimately important. As Tenar decides to spare Sparrowhawk’s life, he in turn gives back Tenar’s sense of individuality, “‘You told me to show you something worth seeing, I show you yourself’…‘Take care, Tenar’…‘I have my name back. I am Tenar!’” (LeGuin 107, 115, 118).

13. Works Cited • Jung, C. G.. Aspects of the Masculine & Aspects of the Feminine. New York : MJF Books, 1989. Print.