In this book Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz uses her vast knowledge of myths, fairy tales, dreams, and visions to show how the collective psyche itself has pointed to ways of resolving the modern predicament. She discusses Mercurius, the darkly paradoxical figure from medieval alchemy; the visions of the Swiss mystic Niklaus von Flue; the "unknown visitor" motif in fairy tales; the Cosmic Man as image of the goal of human development; and many archetypal dreams of contemporary people. All of these can be seen as expressions of a collective urge in the West to reintegrate nature and the body, matter and spirit and ultimately, to help us find our way, individually and collectively, to a renewed unity of being and culture.
"Whether explaining the psychic complexities of gender or racial conflict, or the survival value of our connection to other animals, von Franz is perhaps unsurpassed as the archetypal Jungian." --Library Journal
Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998) was the foremost student of C. G. Jung, with whom she worked closely from 1934 until his death in 1961. A founder of the C. G. Jung Institute of Zurich, she published widely on subjects including alchemy, dreams, fairy tales, personality types, and psychotherapy. Her works include Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, The Feminine in Fairy Tales, and The Interpretation of Fairy Tales.
In this book Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz uses her vast knowledge of myths, fairy tales, dreams, and visions to show how the collective psyche itself has pointed to ways of resolving the modern predicament. She discusses Mercurius, the darkly paradoxical figure from medieval alchemy; the visions of the Swiss mystic Niklaus von Flue; the "unknown visitor" motif in fairy tales; the Cosmic Man as image of the goal of human development; and many archetypal dreams of contemporary people. All of these can be seen as expressions of a collective urge in the West to reintegrate nature and the body, matter and spirit and ultimately, to help us find our way, individually and collectively, to a renewed unity of being and culture.
"Whether explaining the psychic complexities of gender or racial conflict, or the survival value of our connection to other animals, von Franz is perhaps unsurpassed as the archetypal Jungian." --Library Journal
Author
Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998) was the foremost student of C. G. Jung, with whom she worked closely from 1934 until his death in 1961. A founder of the C. G. Jung Institute of Zurich, she published widely on subjects including alchemy, dreams, fairy tales, personality types, and psychotherapy. Her works include Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, The Feminine in Fairy Tales, and The Interpretation of Fairy Tales.
