Grandmother and the patriarchal Ouroboros

For Neumann, the patriarchal masculine domination of Western consciousness and its fundamental lack of understanding of feminine psychology are contributing factors in the crisis of the modern Western world. Better knowledge of various aspects of the feminine is therefore needed, so that the collective, which suffers from extreme unilaterality, can heal. This article explains “The psychic development of the feminine” from the standpoint of the dependence of the feminine, its acquisition of independence, and the interdependence between masculine and feminine. It then discusses Amor and Psyche, which exemplifies Neumann’s interpretation.