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

Puer Aeternus: A Psychological Study of the Adult Struggle With the Paradise of Childhood by Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Paperback edition. ISBN: 9780938434016.

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 término latino puer aeternus, que significa infancia o juventud eterna, se le atribuye al niño-dios Yaco en las Metamorfosis de Ovidio. Posteriormente, el niño-dios se identificó con Dionisos y el dios Eros. En la psicología junguiana, el término puer aeternus se utiliza comúnmente para describir cierto tipo de hombre: encantador, afectuoso, creativo y siempre en pos de sus sueños. Se trata de hombres que siguen siendo adolescentes incluso en la edad madura, generalmente llenos de vida, pero que agotan extrañamente a quienes les rodean. Hemos trabajado con ellos, les hemos amado y les hemos visto decirnos adiós. Este estudio clásico, basado en una serie de conferencias que la doctora junguiana Marie-Louise von Franz pronunció en el Jung Institute de Zürich, ha tenido una influencia extraordinaria en la psicología contemporánea. Se trata de psicología junguiana en su tonalidad más terrenal y realista, formulada con un rigor y una profundidad extraordinarias. Esta nueva edición incluye además una Bibliografía y un Índice onomástico muy completo.]