Puer Aeternus: A Psychological Study of the Adult Struggle With the Paradise of Childhood

About this book

From back cover: MARlE-LOUlSE von FRANZ is renown sic in the field of analytical psychology. A native of Munich she has spent most of her life in Zurich where she worked directly with C.G. Jung for nearly thirty years. She was one of the founders of the jung Institute in Kusnacht Switzerland and is currently an analyst there. A gifted and prolific writer von Franz travels extensively lecturing on her works and Jungian psychology. Anticipating the current interest in what is popularly called the "Peter Pan" syndrome Puer Aetemus ("eternal child") is von Franzs classic study of the youth within us resistant to commitment in work or relationships and unable to completely abandon the dreams and fantasies of adolescence. Von Franz shows how this childish innocence can thwart our self-actualization and doom us to adolescent delusions and provisional living. Through an analysis of Saint-Exuperys The Little Prince and Bruno Goetzs Kingdom Without Space von Franz explores the negative potential of the puer and its relation to the mother complex Don Juanism and homosexuality. Above all she helps both men and women recognize this aspect and harness and focus its energy productively. "After reading Puer Aeternus and looking around at the men I know friends and acquaintances I couldnt help seeing reflections everywhere of what von Franz observed. Trapped in dreamy adolescence afraid to leave the paradise of childhood: that seemed to describe a lot of them... This book is relevant to any effort at making sense of this problem." David Hellerstein Esquire Previous description: El trmino latino puer aeternus que significa infancia o juventud eterna se le atribuye al nio-dios Yaco en las Metamorfosis de Ovidio. Posteriormente el nio-dios se identific con Dionisos y el dios Eros. En la psicologa junguiana el trmino puer aeternus se utiliza comnmente para describir cierto tipo de hombre: encantador afectuoso creativo y siempre en pos de sus sueos. Se trata de hombres que siguen siendo adolescentes incluso en la edad madura generalmente llenos de vida pero que agotan extraamente a quienes les rodean. Hemos trabajado con ellos les hemos amado y les hemos visto decirnos adis. Este estudio clsico basado en una serie de conferencias que la doctora junguiana Marie-Louise von Franz pronunci en el Jung Institute de Zrich ha tenido una influencia extraordinaria en la psicologa contempornea. Se trata de psicologa junguiana en su tonalidad ms terrenal y realista formulada con un rigor y una profundidad extraordinarias. Esta nueva edicin incluye adems una Bibliografa y un ndice onomstico muy completo.