Know Thyself, Anime & Animus

 

Know Thyself

Anime & Animus

In his psychoanalytical practice, Jung found that each of his male patients had some female traits, not often noticeable because they are mostly recessive tendencies suppressed by the dominant male side of the psyche. Jung called this feminine side of a man the Anime and the corresponding male side of a woman the Animus.

These contra-personalities usually manifest themselves in middle age, when women are past their childbearing years, and men find their sex drive beginning to wane. The effects of this change can be beneficial. For example, a man may become more caring, sympathetic, and take more interest in the fine arts. A woman can become more logical, practical, and active in crafts, home repairs, etc.

On the other hand, the effects of the change can be negative. A man may become more openly and embarrassingly sentimental. He may become a whiner, a hypochondriac, or a complainer. A woman can become a virago, a fault-finding hypercritic, or she may become so obsessed with some outside interest that it dominates her life, and she neglects her home and family.

But the Anime and Animus don't always wait until middle age to become active in our lives. Several of my colleagues were in marriages in which there was at least a partial role reversal. I only knew of one case in which the husband stayed at home and took care of the children and the household chores; and that situation only lasted for a short period. But I knew of several families in which the father had more of a nurturing nature than the mother. He took more interest and enjoyment in the children and gladly drove them to birthday parties and ballet lessons, attended PTA meetings, and helped them with their homework, while the mother focused on her work or some outside interest.

It is important not to confuse the Anima and Animus, which are actually helpful complexes that keep us from becoming too one-sided in terms of gender, with sexual orientation and preferences. If a person identifies with the opposite sex in a homosexual relationship, or seeks a surgical sex change operation, it is a matter of the libido, and should be discussed under that category.

In the course of analyzing dreams of his male patients, Jung observed that a being who offered words of advice or admonition usually appeared in the form of a woman. He seemed to identify this being as the Anime, at times, and as Sofia (Greek for “Wisdom”) at others. She usually appears as a woman or angel dressed in white, or as the Virgin Mary. (Incidentally, she also appears in the Beatles song, Let It Be: “Mother Mary, speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it be, let it be' “.)

In a woman's dream the guide usually appears as a tall man wearing a long white robe and identified as Jesus or as a teacher. If I interpret the meaning of the Higher Self, these personal guides belong in that category, and should not be confused with the Anime and Animus.

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