Salome’s Embrace: The Jungian Women

by Maggy Anthony

C. G. Jung, a man who accomplished a revolution in analytical psychology and made an impact both directly and indirectly on a great number of people, also took women seriously. The release of The Red Book has greatly added to our knowledge of Jung’s relationship with the from his mother, his wife and his extramarital affairs to the effect these had on the formulation of his psychology and on the women who had the courage to explore the need for a spiritual link to Jung and who became known as the Valkyries.



In this revised and expanded study of the many women in Jung’s close circle, Anthony explores the women who followed Jung during his lifetime, his need for their company, and their contributions to his work. The book includes studies of Emma Jung, Sabina Spielrein and Toni Wolff, as well as Jung’s mother Emilie, and many other collaborators and followers. It also includes chapters on The Red Book, the Zurich Psychological Club and Dadaism. Including never-before published primary material, including interviews with the women themselves, Salome’s Embrace assesses their work and its value for the generations of Jungian analysts that have followed, including women who practice depth psychology today.



The book will be of great interest to analytical psychologists and Jungian psychotherapists in practice and in training, academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian studies, gender, and women’s history.

Genres: Psychology, History, Feminism, Biography

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2017

Reviews

[Philippe · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a series of short biographical vignettes Maggy Anthony surveys the first generation of key women in Jung's entourage. C.G. Jung was an imposing man who magnetically pulled smart women in his orbit. One reason for that attraction is the fact that Jung took these women really seriously. Given their Victorian background, he was probably one of first men to do so. He worked with them, as patients or analysts, incentivised them to study and develop their own practice. Many of these women remained unmarried and grew into formidable champions of his legacy. The author hypothesises that another reason for the attraction "was possibly the women sensing that Jung needed them as much as they needed him." An early experience of absence of his mother - due to illness - created within him a lifelong need for the creative and intellectual companionship of women.

The shadow side of this deep connection between Jung and the women in his circle is that very few of them were able to assume a critical stance vis-à-vis Jung's work and contradict or go beyond his ideas. Specifically they remained captive to the (sexist) concept of 'animus' (the female's inner masculine image). Anthony devotes one chapter to more recent trends in analytic psychology that aim to reframe and de-genderise the tensions between anima and animus. All in all an enjoyable and informative read (3.5 stars).

[Anita Ashland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author gives short descriptions of the women who worked closely with Jung during his lifetime (Barbara Hannah, Marie-Louise von Franz, Toni Wolff and many others). She shows how Jung’s magnetism held them back in some ways but also, by taking them seriously, freed them to pursue careers they wouldn’t have otherwise.

She also has a section on women today who are Jungian therapists and scholars and how they are improving upon Jung’s take on the animus.

I especially enjoyed her chapter at the end where she describes her year in Zurich.