Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of ThoughtJung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Philosophy
Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of Thought
Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Libido (Psychology); Mother and child; Psychoanalysis; Subconsciousness; Symbolism (Psychology)
Bertschinger.[350] The libido which was represented theriomorphically is
the “animal” sexuality which is in a repressed state. The history of
repression, as we have seen, goes back to the incest problem, where the
first motives for moral resistance against sexuality display themselves.
The objects of the repressed libido are, in the last degree, the images
of father and mother; therefore the theriomorphic symbols, in so far as
they do not symbolize merely the libido in general, have a tendency to
present father and mother (for example, father represented by a bull,
mother by a cow). From these roots, as we pointed out earlier, might
probably arise the theriomorphic attributes of the Divinity. In as far
as the repressed libido manifests itself under certain conditions, as
anxiety, these animals are generally of a horrible nature. In
consciousness we are attached by all sacred bonds to the mother; in the
dream she pursues us as a terrible animal. The Sphinx, mythologically
considered, is actually a fear animal, which reveals distinct traits of
a mother derivate. In the Oedipus legend the Sphinx is sent by Hera, who
hates Thebes on account of the birth of Bacchus; because Oedipus
conquers the Sphinx, which is nothing but fear of the mother, he must
marry Jocasta, his mother, for the throne and the hand of the widowed
queen of Thebes belonged to him who freed the land from the plague of
the Sphinx. The genealogy of the Sphinx is rich in allusions to the
problem touched upon here. She is a daughter of Echnida, a mixed being;
a beautiful maiden above, a hideous serpent below. This double creature
corresponds to the picture of the mother; above, the human, lovely and
attractive half; below, the horrible animal half, converted into a fear
animal through the incest prohibition. Echnida is derived from the
All-mother, the mother Earth, Gaea, who, with Tartaros, the personified
underworld (the place of horrors), brought her forth. Echnida herself is
the mother of all terrors, of the Chimaera, Scylla, Gorgo, of the
horrible Cerberus, of the Nemean Lion, and of the eagle who devoured the
liver of Prometheus; besides this she gave birth to a number of dragons.
One of her sons is Orthrus, the dog of the monstrous Geryon, who was
killed by Hercules. With this dog, her son, Echnida, in incestuous
intercourse, produced the Sphinx. These materials will suffice to
characterize that amount of libido which led to the Sphinx symbol. If,
in spite of the lack of subjective material, we may venture to draw an
inference from the Sphinx symbol of our author, we must say that the
Sphinx represents an original incestuous amount of libido detached from
the bond to the mother. Perhaps it is better to postpone this conclusion
until we have examined the following visions.
After Miss Miller had concentrated herself again, the vision developed
further:
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