way. Thus newborns react quickly to their mothers because the collective un-
conscious holds an image of a mother for each of us. Similarly, we react tothe dark or to God because of unconscious images inherited from our ances-
tors. Jung referred to these images collectively as archetypes. Among the many
archetypes Jung described were the mother, the father, the wise old man, the
sun, the moon, the hero, God, and death. The list is almost inexhaustible.
Jung maintained there are “as many archetypes as there are typical situations
in life. ”
Jung was aware of how mystical this theory sounds to many people en-
countering it for the first time. Some students scoff at the idea that each of
us is born with a collection of unconscious material that directs our actionsand that, like all unconscious material, we have no direct access to. However,
Jung argued that the collective unconscious was no more mysterious than the
concept of instincts. People are comfortable saying a baby “instinctually ”finds
its mother or that humans “naturally ”share a fear of darkness. He might add
that many other theorists describe aspects of personality that we cannot per-
ceive directly. Although the number of archetypes may be limitless, a few areparticularly important in Jung ’s writings. Among the more interesting are the
anima, the animus, and the shadow.
Some Important Archetypes
The anima is the feminine side of the male; the animus is the masculine side
of the female. According to Jung, deep inside every masculine man is a femi-
nine counterpart. Deep inside every feminine woman is a masculine self. Aprincipal function of these archetypes is to guide the selection of a romantic
partner and the course of the subsequent relationship. Jung explained that
we look for a romantic partner by projecting our anima or animus onto po-tential mates. In his words, “a man, in his love choice, is strongly tempted to
win the woman who best corresponds to his own unconscious femininity —a
woman, in short, who can unhesitatingly receive the projection of his soul ”
(1928/1953, p. 70). Less poetically, Jung is saying that each of us holds an
unconscious image of the man or woman we are looking for. The more some-
one matches our projected standards, the more we ’ll want to develop a rela-
tionship with that person. Whereas people in love might prefer to “count the
ways, ”Jung believed the real reason for romance lies in the hidden part of
our minds inherited from our ancestors through the centuries.
Although the name may be a bit melodramatic, the shadow contains the
unconscious part of ourselves that is essentially negative, or to continue the
metaphor, the dark side of our personalities. It is the evil side of humankind.
The shadow is located partly in the personal unconscious in the form of re-
pressed feelings and partly in the collective unconscious. Jung pointed out
that evil is personified in the myths and stories of all cultures. In Judeo-
Christian writings, this archetype is symbolized as the Devil. Good versus
evil is perhaps the most common theme in literature from all cultures because
the collective unconscious of all people readily grasps the concept. Similar to
Freud ’s description of projection, Jung argued that we sometimes see our
own objectionable characteristics in other people.102 CHAPTER 5 The Psychoanalyt ic Approach