Carl Jung

CG Jung. Wiki Commons.
4 Carl Jung Theories Explained: Persona, Shadow,

Anima/Animus, The Self
A Brief Introduction to Carl Jung and Jungian Psychology.
Harry J. Stead
Oct 2, 2019 · 6 min read
. . .
The Persona
In every public arena we present an exaggerated version of ourselves which

we hope will make an impression. The character we display in our
occupation is not the same as at home. When alone we have no one to impress, but
in public we wear a mask, a persona, so that we might impose a desirable image of
ourselves onto others. Every profession has subtle agreements about the manners
which are acceptable, and those which are not; and it is expected that the individual
will adapt to these requirements without anyone having to openly explain them. A
doctor, for instance, is expected to behave as a doctor should, with a patience and
sympathy that would be diBcult for an ordinary person to achieve; any propensity
for impatience or hostility would not be acceptable, and for good reason.
It is then the distinct purpose of the persona to subdue all of the primitive urges,
impulses, and emotions that are not considered socially acceptable, and that, if we
were to act upon them, would make us look fools. Anyone with any sense at all sees
through the façade; but we each participate in pretending that all this is real, so that
society might carry on as normal. The diBculty with the persona arises only when
one becomes so closely identiCed with his role that he loses all sense of self. At this
point the damage is surely done: he will be entirely unaware of any distinction
between himself and the world in which he lives. The result of an inEated persona,
Jung warned, is a ‘shallow, brittle, conformist kind of personality which is ‘all
persona’, with its excessive concern for ‘what people think.’ Such a person will
sacriCce himself for the wishes of others without limit — not because he is a saint,
but because he does not have the courage to refuse and endure conEict.
The Shadow
If nothing else, the persona is obedience to expectations; it is the mask one

wears to convince himself, and others, that he is not an altogether bad
person. But one cannot go beyond the persona until he has incorporated into his
character those darker character traits which belong to what Jung called the
‘shadow self’. The shadow is everything that we have denied in ourselves and cast
into oblivion, or rather everything that the ego has refused to associate with itself,
but that we can notice in other people — such things might include our sexuality,
spontaneity, aggression, instincts, cowardice, carelessness, passion, enthusiasm,
love of material possessions. It embraces all those sins, dark thoughts, and moods
for which we felt guilt and shame.
The shadow is necessarily emotional in nature, for it must oppose the rigidness of
the ego; it holds its own autonomy, separate from the conscious mind. Therefore, in
being instinctive and irrational, the shadow is prone to psychological projection,
whereby we attribute to others all our evil and inferior qualities that we do not want
to admit are in ourselves. ‘A man who is unconscious of himself’, Jung writes, ‘acts in
a blind, instinctive way and is in addition fooled by all the illusions that arise when
he sees everything that he is not conscious of in himself coming to meet him from
outside as projections upon his neighbour.’ (The Philosophical Tree, page 335.)
When we perceive a moral deCciency in others we can be sure there is a similar
inferiority within ourselves. ‘If you feel’, Von Franz writes, ‘an overwhelming rage
coming up in you when a friend reproaches you about a fault, you can be fairly sure
that at this point you will Cnd a part of your shadow, of which you are unconscious.’
If we observe our resentment towards ourselves and others, and if we consider the
moral aspects of our behaviour, then we have the opportunity to bring the shadow
into consciousness, and achieve a renewed sense of strength and independence.
Source
Anima/Animus
J ung believed that nested inside the shadow are the qualities of our opposite
gender. The anima is the archetype that expresses the fact that men have a
minority of feminine qualities; and the animus expresses the masculine qualities
within women. In every man there is a woman, and in every woman a man; or
rather, there is the image of the ideal man/woman, which is, as a rule, formed in
part by the experience of our mother/father, and by the inEuence of culture and
heritage. One might argue that the ideas of feminine and masculine are based on
arbitrary stereotypes. But Jung presented the concepts of the anima and animus as
the ancient archetypes of Eros and Logos. Eros (the female) is associated with
receptivity, creativity, relationships, and wholeness.. Logos (the male) is identiCed
with power, thought, and action. (In Ancient Greek Eros means ‘love’, or ‘life
energy’; whereas Logos is the term for a principle of order and knowledge.)
The anima then is a personiCcation of all feminine tendencies, positive or negative,

in a man’s psyche. A positive expression of the anima might include sensitivity and
empathy, capacity for loving relationships, a feeling for nature. But if the anima is
rejected — that is, if a man represses those characteristics which might be
considered classically feminine — the anima becomes deformed: feelings and
emotions are replaced by moodiness, sentimentality, hysteria; Cdelity becomes
possessiveness; aesthetics become sensuality; tenderness becomes eYeminacy;
imagination becomes mere fantasizing. The animus, on the other hand, is a
personiCcation of masculine tendencies in a woman’s psyche, such as strength of
conviction, assertiveness, courage, strength, vitality, and a desire for achievement.
But if the woman disregards her masculine edge then she will become possessed by
the animus: assertiveness will become aggression and ruthlessness; and analytical
thought will become argumentativeness.
As with the shadow, the archetypes of the anima/animus have their own autonomy,
and are independent from our conscious mind. Thus the anima/animus can be
projected in the world so that they appear to be some qualities of a particular
man/woman. In the presence of the anima, or at least a good imitation of anima, a
man feels a peculiar familiarity with her, as if he has known this woman for all time;
in some cases, the energy between the two is intoxicating, to the degree that one
might say he has fallen in ‘love at Crst sight’. In truth, he has fallen in love with a
deception, with the image that he has projected onto another woman. It is only
when the mirage of the projection disperses will he realise himself as a fool. Once
the projection is withdrawn the anima can be recognised as a force within oneself.
After having integrated the anima, men seemingly reconnect with a divine power in
the inner world — which might express itself as a creative ability, or a sensitivity for
the natural world— which must have always been within them; but which had to be
shown to them by the presence of the feminine, by the guiding hand of a woman.
The Self
A fter one has overcome the persona, and integrated his shadow and the
aspects of the anima/animus archetypes into one’s character, one then is
given access, Jung believed, to enter into the deepest and highest reaches of the
psyche, the archetype of wholeness– which Jung named the ‘Self’, the most
signiCcant of all the archetypes. ‘The Self embraces’, Jung writes, ‘ego-
consciousness, shadow, anima, and collective unconscious in indeterminable
extension.’ (Mysterium Coniunctionis, page 108.) The self then is the sum of
everything we are now, and everything we once were, as well as everything we
could potentially become; it is the symbol of the ‘God within us’, that which we are
as a totality.
The archetype of the self is the origin of our impulse towards self-realisation; it is
the single point from which our character and our personality matures as we grow
older — just as a seed holds the whole potential future of a Eower. It is the Self that
brings forth what Jung called ‘the process of individuation’, which begins from the
potential of childhood to an expansive journey of self-discovery, whereby one
consciously and gradually integrates the unconscious aspects — the parts of
ourselves that we have refused to confront — of one’s personality into the whole.
Jung believed that it is the end purpose of human life to experience this coming
together of the whole, to fully integrate and make conscious everything about
ourselves that was hidden in the shadow. This end is the fullest expression of one’s
character, and allows one to hold Crm their individuality against the collective mass
unconscious.
. . .
Thank you, Harry J. Stead
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CG Jung. Wiki Commons.

4 Carl Jung Theories Explained: Persona, Shadow,

In every public arena we present an exaggerated version of ourselves which

If nothing else, the persona is obedience to expectations; it is the mask one

The anima then is a personiCcation of all feminine tendencies, positive or negative,

Psychology Philosophy Spirituality Life Life Lessons

About Help Legal

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