fei75766_ch04_107-148.indd 131  02/19/20 09:00 AM
Chapter 4    Jung: Analytical Psychology131
Middle Life
Jungbelieved thatmiddle lifebegins atapproximately age35or40,bywhich time
thesunhaspassed itszenith andbegins itsdownward descent. Although thisdecline 
canpresent middle-aged people withincreasing anxieties, middle lifeisalsoaperiod 
oftremendous potential.
Ifmiddle-aged people retain thesocial andmoral values oftheirearly life,they
become rigidandfanatical intrying toholdontotheirphysical attractiveness and
agility. Finding theirideals shifting, theymayfightdesperately tomaintain their
youthful appearance andlifestyle. Most ofus,wrote Jung(1931/1960a), areunpre -
pared to“take thestepintotheafternoon oflife;worse still,wetakethisstepwiththe
falseassumption thatourtruths andideals willserve usashitherto. ...Wecannot 
liveintheafternoon oflifeaccording totheprogramme oflife’smorning; forwhat 
wasgreat inthemorning willbelittleatevening, andwhat inthemorning wastrue
willatevening havebecome alie”(p.399).
How canmiddle lifebelived toitsfullest? People whohavelived youth by
neither childish normiddle-aged values arewellprepared toadvance tomiddle life
andtolivefullyduring thatstage. They arecapable ofgiving uptheextraverted goals 
ofyouth andmoving intheintroverted direction ofexpanded consciousness. Their 
psychological health isnotenhanced bysuccess inbusiness, prestige insociety, or
satisfaction withfamily life.They must lookforward tothefuture withhope and
anticipation, surrender thelifestyle ofyouth, anddiscover newmeaning inmiddle 
life.Thisstepoften, butnotalways, involves amature religious orientation, especially 
abelief insome sortoflifeafterdeath (Jung, 1931/1960a).
Old Age
Astheevening oflifeapproaches, people experience adiminution ofconsciousness 
justasthelightandwarmth ofthesundiminish atdusk. Ifpeople fearlifeduring 
theearly years, thentheywillalmost certainly feardeath during thelaterones. Fear
ofdeath isoften taken asnormal, butJungbelieved thatdeath isthegoaloflifeand
thatlifecanbefulfilling onlywhen death isseeninthislight. In1934, during his60th
year, Jungwrote:
Ordinarily wecling toourpastandremain stuck intheillusion ofyouthfulness. 
Being oldishighly unpopular. Nobody seems toconsider thatnotbeing ableto
grow oldisjustasabsurd asnotbeing abletooutgrow child’s-size shoes. Astill
infantile manofthirty issurely tobedeplored, butayouthful septuagenarian—
isn’tthatdelightful? Andyetbothareperverse, lacking instyle, psychological 
monstrosities. Ayoung manwhodoesnotfightandconquer hasmissed the
bestpartofhisyouth, andanoldmanwhodoesnotknow howtolisten tothe
secrets ofthebrooks, astheytumble down from thepeaks tothevalleys, makes 
nosense; heisaspiritual mummy whoisnothing butarigidrelicofthepast.
(Jung, 1934/1960, p.407)
Most ofJung’s patients weremiddle agedorolder, andmany ofthem suffered 
from abackward orientation, clinging desperately togoals andlifestyles ofthepast
andgoing through themotions oflifeaimlessly. Jungtreated these people byhelping 
them establish newgoals andfindmeaning inliving byfirstfinding meaning indeath. 
Heaccomplished thistreatment through dream interpretation, because thedreams Final PDF to printer