The Animus: The Spirit of Inner Truth in Women (Polarities of the Psyche)

Barbara Hannah was a straightforward, modest, yet a grand woman, a lover of literature, and a colleague and friend of C. G. Jung, Emma Jung, and Marie-Louise von Franz. A first-generation Jungian psychologist, she was an original member of the Psychological Club of Zurich and a founder of the Jung Institute in Zurich. She lectured extensively in Switzerland and England and wrote several books on C. G. Jung and Jungian psychology.

The Animus, in two volumes, presents a psychological analysis of the animus, gleaned from handwritten notes, typed manuscripts, previously published articles, the author's own drafts of her lectures, and notes taken by those present. Barbara Hannah tackled the theme of the animus with a comprehensiveness unsurpassed in Jungian literature. Her insights and vigor stem from personally grappling with her own animus, while integrating the experience and reflections of many psychotherapists who worked directly with C. G. Jung.

Authenticity and comprehensiveness were priorities in editing this work, as well as the preservation of the excellence and comprehensiveness of her work on the animus―a most complex and vexing topic―while retaining the wonderfully natural spirit of Barbara Hannah herself.

Themes include the case of the sixteenth-century nun, Jeanne Fery; the animus in the Book of Tobit (or Tobias); literature generally (the Brontës in particular); and the meaning of the animus for modern women.

See also: The Animus, volume 2. These two volumes are part of the "Polarities of the Psyche" series from Chiron Publications. Other books in the series are Lectures on Jung's Aion and The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals.