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Puer Papers
Nine essays elaborating the puer figure - the spirit of youth and the youth of spirit - through explorations in myth, literature, pathology, and archetypal Senex and Puer by James Hillman; Peaks and Valleys by James Hillman; American Learns by Henry A. Murray; Puer Wounds and Ulysses' Scar by James Hillman; Puer's Wounded Reflections on the Psychology of Skin Disease by Randolph Severson; Notes on Opportunism by James Hillman; Artemis and the Puer by Tom Moore; Puer The Figure of Innocence in Melville by James Baird; On Finnegans Wake by Thomas Cowan.
- GenresPsychology
246 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
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About the author
James Hillman
175 books575 followersJames Hillman (1926-2011) was an American psychologist. He served in the US Navy Hospital Corps from 1944 to 1946, after which he attended the Sorbonne in Paris, studying English Literature, and Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a degree in mental and moral science in 1950.
In 1959, he received his PhD from the University of Zurich, as well as his analyst's diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute and founded a movement toward archetypal psychology, was then appointed as Director of Studies at the institute, a position he held until 1969.
In 1970, Hillman became editor of Spring Publications, a publishing company devoted to advancing Archetypal Psychology as well as publishing books on mythology, philosophy and art. His magnum opus, Re-visioning Psychology, was written in 1975 and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Hillman then helped co-found the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture in 1978.
Retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27, 2011 from bone cancer.
In 1959, he received his PhD from the University of Zurich, as well as his analyst's diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute and founded a movement toward archetypal psychology, was then appointed as Director of Studies at the institute, a position he held until 1969.
In 1970, Hillman became editor of Spring Publications, a publishing company devoted to advancing Archetypal Psychology as well as publishing books on mythology, philosophy and art. His magnum opus, Re-visioning Psychology, was written in 1975 and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Hillman then helped co-found the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture in 1978.
Retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27, 2011 from bone cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2022
An essay collection edited by James Hillman, a student of C. G. Jung who broke with his master to create his own system of psychoanalysis just as Jung had done with Sigmund Freud. Other contributors than Hillman himself include Henry A. Murray, Tom Moore, James Baird, Thomas Cowan and Randolph Severson. As the title indicates, the main theme of ”Puer Papers” is examining the archetype of the Puer Aeternus: The eternal boy best known in modern pop culture from J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Little Prince.
One of the most obvious points where Hillman broke with orthodox Jungians (e. g. Marie Louise von Franz) was that Hillman did NOT view the Puer Aeternus as an inherently negative presence. Instead he identified the Puer as the solar hero striving ever forwards to new heights, embodying human awareness of future and eternity. In here, Hillman and his co-writers argue that the Puer forms a necessary balancing counterpart to the Senex, the archetype of the wise old man embodying awareness of past and history. Both these archetypes can become destructive and negative when lacking a constructive relationship with each other. In one essay, Hillman defines a clear distinction between spirit and soul – the former universal but the latter particular to a specific time and place – transcending the gap between spirit and soul being the Puer Aeternus' task as a heroic archetype.
Other interesting topics discussed include: A psychiatric case study titled ”American Icarus” by Henry A. Murray, examining a patient suffering from similar psychological insecurities as the mythological hero; essays by Hillman and Severson about the role of wounds serving as mortal weaknesses for Puer type heroes (e. g. Achilles' heel); the relevance of such characters' frequent connections to horses, even bringing up Sigmund Freud's famous case of ”Little Hans”, a 5-year old boy with a debilitating fear of horses; an essay by Tom Moore about the Greek mythic hero Actaion's transformation into a stag after having seen the hunting goddess Artemis naked, which from the viewpoint of Hillmanian archetypal psychology becomes not just an illustration of humanity's relation to the dark side of the divine feminine (a perennial fascination of Jungians) but also how often people's decision to following their fated life paths necessitates becoming completely unrecogniseable to the parents who raised them.
As a matter of fact, ”Puer Papers” is along with ”Animal Presences” one of the few latter day Hillman books which do not require an in depth familiarity with Hillman's eccentric re-interpretations of Jung (for a crash course in that read ”Re-Visioning Psychology”) to understand. I consider ”Puer Papers” necessary reading for any Jungian who finds the Puer Aeternus archetype relevant to the condition of modern man, since this book provides some much needed counterpoint to traditional Jungian interpretations. A counterpoint I consider especially relevant in an era where many people encounter Jung second hand through Jordan Peterson, who attaches Jungian psychology to a conservative Christian morality that Hillman ended up very much opposed to despite starting with similar psychological premises.
I also find ”Puer Papers” interesting as a work of literary criticism alone. In addition to analysis of Greek/Roman mythology, it also contains essays by James Baird and Thomas Cowan about how the characters in novels by Herman Melville and James Joyce respectively reflect the archetypes described here. Certainly made me more curious about exploring those 2 authors' bibliographies.
One of the most obvious points where Hillman broke with orthodox Jungians (e. g. Marie Louise von Franz) was that Hillman did NOT view the Puer Aeternus as an inherently negative presence. Instead he identified the Puer as the solar hero striving ever forwards to new heights, embodying human awareness of future and eternity. In here, Hillman and his co-writers argue that the Puer forms a necessary balancing counterpart to the Senex, the archetype of the wise old man embodying awareness of past and history. Both these archetypes can become destructive and negative when lacking a constructive relationship with each other. In one essay, Hillman defines a clear distinction between spirit and soul – the former universal but the latter particular to a specific time and place – transcending the gap between spirit and soul being the Puer Aeternus' task as a heroic archetype.
Other interesting topics discussed include: A psychiatric case study titled ”American Icarus” by Henry A. Murray, examining a patient suffering from similar psychological insecurities as the mythological hero; essays by Hillman and Severson about the role of wounds serving as mortal weaknesses for Puer type heroes (e. g. Achilles' heel); the relevance of such characters' frequent connections to horses, even bringing up Sigmund Freud's famous case of ”Little Hans”, a 5-year old boy with a debilitating fear of horses; an essay by Tom Moore about the Greek mythic hero Actaion's transformation into a stag after having seen the hunting goddess Artemis naked, which from the viewpoint of Hillmanian archetypal psychology becomes not just an illustration of humanity's relation to the dark side of the divine feminine (a perennial fascination of Jungians) but also how often people's decision to following their fated life paths necessitates becoming completely unrecogniseable to the parents who raised them.
As a matter of fact, ”Puer Papers” is along with ”Animal Presences” one of the few latter day Hillman books which do not require an in depth familiarity with Hillman's eccentric re-interpretations of Jung (for a crash course in that read ”Re-Visioning Psychology”) to understand. I consider ”Puer Papers” necessary reading for any Jungian who finds the Puer Aeternus archetype relevant to the condition of modern man, since this book provides some much needed counterpoint to traditional Jungian interpretations. A counterpoint I consider especially relevant in an era where many people encounter Jung second hand through Jordan Peterson, who attaches Jungian psychology to a conservative Christian morality that Hillman ended up very much opposed to despite starting with similar psychological premises.
I also find ”Puer Papers” interesting as a work of literary criticism alone. In addition to analysis of Greek/Roman mythology, it also contains essays by James Baird and Thomas Cowan about how the characters in novels by Herman Melville and James Joyce respectively reflect the archetypes described here. Certainly made me more curious about exploring those 2 authors' bibliographies.
June 23, 2023
Gostei muito do livro. Livro complexo, com muita ampliação possível de ser feita.
Quero ler novamente no futuro, assim como vários outros.
Abaixo duas citações complementares do livro:
"Estas elaborações precisas do par tendem a literalizar de forma por demais restrita a idéia fundamental: a consciência do puer é uma consciência dupla e a conscientização dessa duplicidade da individualidade é precisamente a iniciação.
(...)
A poderosa imagem da necessária duplicidade e assimetria ensina-nos a respeito das compulsões da unilateralidade (condição não-iniciada da mente literalista) e a respeito do significado de nossa eterna sensação de desequilíbrio." P. 198-199
Considero o livro João de Ferro do Robert Bly de mais fácil leitura e com resultados mais prático, embora mais raso do que O Livro do Puer.
Quero ler novamente no futuro, assim como vários outros.
Abaixo duas citações complementares do livro:
"Estas elaborações precisas do par tendem a literalizar de forma por demais restrita a idéia fundamental: a consciência do puer é uma consciência dupla e a conscientização dessa duplicidade da individualidade é precisamente a iniciação.
(...)
A poderosa imagem da necessária duplicidade e assimetria ensina-nos a respeito das compulsões da unilateralidade (condição não-iniciada da mente literalista) e a respeito do significado de nossa eterna sensação de desequilíbrio." P. 198-199
Considero o livro João de Ferro do Robert Bly de mais fácil leitura e com resultados mais prático, embora mais raso do que O Livro do Puer.
May 10, 2025
Well I really only read one essay in the book so far, Peaks and Vales; The Soul/Spirit Distinction as Basis for the Differences between Psychotherapy and Spiritual Discipline” but it’s so good it earns 5 stars for the book. (Hillman is rolling his eyes in the grave at the ridiculousness of the star rating system while also delighting in it).
October 24, 2025
For over-overthinkers
January 4, 2016
I am up to the last section of this book: The Puer in Myth and Literature. I am stopping here and putting it aside for now. I simply have too many books that I am excited to read right now and the end of the book is getting to be a bit of a slog. This book is a very important counter-balance to Von-Franz's book on the Puer. When I say "this book" what I really mean is the first essay by James Hillman titled, "Sensex and Puer: An Aspect of the Historical and Psychological Present" which runs about 50 pages. Hillman celebrates the puer and does not see it like Von-Franz who wants to "kill" the puer and turn him into a sensex. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh in describing Von-Franz. Regardless, Hillman sees it as a Puer-Sensex continuum and that psychological health comes from adding some balance to either extreme - but not that the Puer is inherently problematic.
I hope to add some of my favorite excerpts soon.
The four stars are specifically for the Hillman essay and not for the entire book.
I hope to add some of my favorite excerpts soon.
The four stars are specifically for the Hillman essay and not for the entire book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews