THE INNER MASCULINE: ANIMUS
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C. G. Jung named this aspect of a woman's psyche animus, meaning inner mind. It is important to keep in mind that the term Animus does not refer to gender. Nor is it a biological concept. It refers to the eternal archetypal images found in personal dreams, mythic literature, folk/ fairy tales, poetry, art, film and music. Like a man's inner feminine aspect, the concept of an inner masculine component contained within a woman's psyche is very ancient. Iconographic representations in both comparative mythology and religion attest to this. We find this in the ancient Taoist symbol of the Ying and Yang for example in which both the feminine and the masculine values intermingle in balance and harmony. Buddhist Tantic art like the Tibetan thangka on the left also depicts this amalgamation of masculine/feminine energies.
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ANIMUS: THERAPY
The best way for a woman to understand and work with her inner masculine self is through objectification, e.g. painting, drawing, clay modeling, journaling, composing, poetry, etc. He (the animus) often appears in nightly dreams in a variety of symbolic forms. Among the artists having depicted the animus is Frida Kahlo. The painting below is entitled, "Diego and I." Note the image of Diego Rivera on her forehead. Their on-again off-again relationship was the subject of much psychological self-examination in her paintings.
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ANIMUS: INDIVIDUAL POSSESSION
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"A woman possessed by the animus is always in
danger of losing her femininity..." --JUNG, CW 7, Par 337 To be possessed by the inner masculine is to be polarized. The invisible inner partner dominates with his collective opinions, unalterable words of irrational wisdom. His word becomes the law of a woman's inner as well as outer worlds. The conscious outer feminine aspect of a woman can be pushed out of the way by the animus. A woman's intuition, creativity, and emotional connection will then suffer. René Magritte's 1928 paintings called The Lovers III & The Lovers IV seem to catch the spirit of animus possession. Note that only the masculine head is visible in these paintings . |
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ANIMUS: COLLECTIVE POSSESSION
| Women like
men can get caught up in very destructive collective political, religious
and social movements. According to Jung a negative animus in women often
works like a group of inquisitional judges, e.g. psychological parts--ready
to past a death sentence at any moment on those it deems at fault. Those
possessed by the irrefutable judgments and irrational conclusions of a
negative animus are a danger to themselves and others when they possess
political power (a rarity in most patriarchal dominated societies).
The Chinese Cultural Revolution of late 1960's was a purge movement to discredit the intellectuals and eliminate all Western influence from China. Like the European witch hunts of the past, women turned on each other to save themselves from suspicion. Some atrocities were committed by zealous young women caught up in party rhetoric----particularly in schools. Ironically, Mao's modernization of China freed women from the the strict codes of Confucianism only to be thrown back into it with the so-called 'Great Leap Forward' of the Cultural Revolution. Without psychological reflection, the past is repeated. Perhaps fittingly enough a Red Guard female leader named Tan Houlan and her group ransacked Qufu (Confucius birthplace) and destroyed many traditional edifices. Below left is a group of Red Guards in formation. |
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ANIMUS CHARACTERS
| Most if not all animus characters are made up of unconscious projections. A father complex in a woman can attract a wide variety of male characters into her orbit. The abusive father usually becomes the abusive boyfriend or husband. The jealous father usually becomes the jealous boyfriend or husband. A woman's psyche is a crowded place. Many characters or parts can inhabit it. Some of these are friendly and some not so friendly. Some are masculine and some feminine in nature. All these parts are symbolic representations of inner attitudes, emotions and behaviors. Their source is always archetypal: predominantly mythology and folk/fairy tales. Here are some of them: |
| The Terrible
Father represents a woman's masculine shadow which inhibits a woman's
potential for growth, understanding and individuation. Jungian analyst
Clarissa Pinkola Estes calls this archetype "the Predator" because it lives
off the instinctual life force within a woman. It cuts her off from
intuition, self-knowing and inner sensing.
The Bluebeard illustrations below visually describe the process of confronting the shadow: The black and white Gustave Dore engraving LEFT is from the 1867 J. Hetzel book, Les Contes de Perrault. Bluebeard warns his wife not to use the door key to open the door to the forbidden room while he is away or he will be very angry. The 1905 illustration CENTER by John Watson Davis is entitled, "About to open the forbidden door." In order to individuate, every woman will at some point in her life will have to confront the forbidden chamber and discover her shadow. This is the beginning of wisdom. The illustration RIGHT by Matt Mahurin reveals Bluebeard's terrible secret. |
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| The Demon
Lover is another masculine shadow aspect in a woman's psyche. Formed in an
early childhood environment with either an abusive or weak father figure and
a victim mother it forges the links through projection to later domestic
violence. As a girl internalizes her father's psychological attitudes and
behaviors, these act as a magnetic field attracting men with similar
unconscious characteristics. The negative aspect of the father becomes part
of a woman's shadow attracting men with the same complex. If no work is done
the cycle is repeated, but gets worse with every generation.
The contemporary murder case of O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown are a good example of the Demon Lover. Jealousy is often the motivating factor in the Demon Lover. The painting Left-- by Thomas Ryder is a scene from Shakespeare's play Othello. |
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| Big Daddy is
often identified with the archetypal, god like figure who in essence has
taken over the role of a woman's psyche. Big Daddy doesn't have to be a
person. He can be a town, city, or country. He can be a church or social
unit. As long as a woman doesn't question her role or rock the social,
religious or ethic boat things can go along swimmingly. She may be rewarded
(not always) for maintaining a childlike state of consciousness--obedient,
docile, passive. She is punished if she rebels--questions, doubts, reflects,
or acts independently. There can be tragic consequences--the unlived
life--for women who cannot break the bonds holding her to Big Daddy.
Women possessed by the Big Daddy archetype need to take a vacation from Eros
and start developing a relationship with their animus. Example: begin
by saying NO to Big Daddy. Stand up for your rights. Express and trusting
your own opinions and ideas.
In the biblical mythic Garden Of Eden story, the Hebrew patriarchal god Yahweh does not like rebellious women. After a failed attempt in creating Lilith--Adam's first wife, he tried again with Eve. Eve also proved to be just as independent a thinker as Lilith. Eve of course was kicked out of paradise with Adam after an encounter with the positive aspect of her own Animus in the form of the snake (take that Billy Graham!) The painting below by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope is entitled, "Eve Tempted." In truth this submissive, child like attitude exists regardless of a woman's economic status. It is particularly true of women in third world or secular countries where patriarchal traditions and laws limit freedom of self-expression. Today women around the world are challenging many of their ancient customs and taboos. The CENTER PHOTO shows actress Calista Flockhart and a Maasai friend named Beatrice. Beatrice is a role model for her peers. She challenged the Maasai tradition of FGM or female genital circumcision and said NO. Having been rejected by her family and village, she is an outcast. Perhaps not for long? The PHOTO RIGHT shows Minako Ikezoe, a 42 year old archeologist who bought her own grave as a gesture of independence. She has challenged the traditional Japanese burial custom of women being buried with their husband's ancestors.
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| The magician
is the one who through his persona, holds the mana of influence and power.
While he is often identified as a New Age Guru, Healer/Doctor, Movie or
Rock Star and/or famous Sport's figure, he's also notorious as a cult
leader. The animus as magician holds a woman spellbound,
entranced, enthralled, and hypnotized. All her animus power is projected onto
his charismatic persona. Charles Manson symbolizes this dark archetypal
entrancement. His ability to get his female followers to follow and carry
out his demonic orders amounted to total control.
Marshall Applegate--center picture--was the cult leader of the Heaven's Gate doomsday cult. A confused and charismatic Christian music teacher, he had himself surgically castrated (ouch!) by fellow cult members to avoid homosexual feelings. Like most cults, Heaven's Gate had more women than men followers. |
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| The image of the vampire is one of the
best representations of this negative animus figure. One of Picasso's lovers once said of
him that after the relationship broke up she felt completely drained. Several of
Picasso's female lovers committed suicide including the two represented here.
The painting on the LEFT is entitled "Portrait
of Dora Maar Seated" and the painting in the CENTER is entitled, "Jacqueline
In Turkish Costume."
A parasite, the ghostly lover lives off the energy and life force of his female host. When they sense that a woman has nothing else to give, they move on to another unsuspecting victim. The outer psychic manipulation of an all too saccharine father and/or mother is compensation for a tyrannical unconscious aspect--the iron fist in the velvet glove syndrome. There is often a secret, unconscious and incestuous connection--as if the relationship was father-daughter. The RIGHT picture is from the 1979 movie Nosferatu: The Vampyre. Nosferatu is derived from Old Slavonic and means 'Plague carrier.' In Romania vampires were associated with spreading disease through their bite. |
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