Carl Jung and Gerard de Nerval
I saw Onkel and asked him about Aurelia and what he thought of it and, why he had Gerard de Nerval to lecture on. I got no answer, really, and kept on wondering?
However, I think I know why, but won’t discuss it in this paper, as this is only a recording of my hour with him [Jung].
Onkel said that de Nerval had real talent, but would not accept the ANIMA (his soul) and so he killed himself.
But first I told Onkel that I thought there were parts in the book, which though sad, as a whole, were laughable.
He said he would call them more ‘grotesque’ than laughable.
He said that all those fantasies of de Nerval were not really ‘funny’ but tragic; they happened against his will.
He was in the clutches of the unconscious, and as one reads on, one feels it will find a terrible denouement [ end].
Onkel went on to tell me that de Nerval went a lot to Germany, and that he was an interesting intermediary between Germany and France.
He translated Goethe’s Faust.
He also translated some Klopstock and Heine.
Onkel went on to say that such people as de Nerval are grotesque and sometimes they are so comical that one forgets their insanity.
Aurelia is an unknown actress.
She played no particular role on the stage or off it and de Nerval was rather upset by the idea that ‘une personne ordinaire de son siecle’ [an ordinary person of his century] would have the role of being the carrier of his ANIMA.
One doesn’t know why de Nerval thinks he committed a particular sin in caring for Aurelia.
He hasn’t recognized her as the Anima, and he took her for an ordinary person, and she was that type of woman who touched the souls of men and who particularly touched his soul.
He mistook her for an ordinary everyday person and then suddenly, he realized that he had missed his chance.
That is what happens to men who don’t realize at the right moment such a thing of vital import.
De Nerval had such extraordinary experiences in those moments of madness and phantasy he had. Pulling off his clothes publicly meant that he was depositing his earthly body.
One night, he was prowling around in Paris aimlessly and he came to a shop window where a mummy was displayed, then he came to a place where he hanged himself.
It was called Rue de la Tuerie [Massacre Street].
The mummy suggested death already!
If he had been analyzed he might have been saved, for if he could have talked to someone about the girl, someone might have opened his eyes to his Anima.
The Anima Then Onkel went on to talk about the important thing that is the Anima.
It means the WHOLE man, but first people must know what the unconscious is and that takes weeks to understand.
People have prejudices and they can’t think at all and can’t grasp it.
It is as if you tried to explain to them the secrets of the atom.
Onkel went on to say, that to doctors he explained the Animus and Anima, but even they had great difficulty in understanding what it is.
It is very difficult to understand the whole import of the Anima.
One must have the right conception of the unconscious and that is difficult. Onkel then went on to explain the unconscious, and started like this:
“If one strips the King of England and puts him in a workman’s clothes, everyone will say that he is an ordinary workman. Nevertheless,
the King of England means the whole might of the British Empire, like the President of the United States embodies all the power and might. They are living figures who express that power! If one didn’t know who Stalin was one would think he was a coachman!”
The Anima is like living on a planet where no human ever appeared, then suddenly a figure appears (the Anima) and you are surprised! ~Katy Cabot, Jung My Mother and I, Pages 470-471
Onkel said that de Nerval had real talent, but would not accept the ANIMA (his soul) and so he killed himself. ~Katy Cabot, Jung My Mother and I, Pages 470
She [Aurelia] played no particular role on the stage or off it and de Nerval was rather upset by the idea that ‘une personne ordinaire de son siecle’ [an ordinary person of his century] would have the role of being the carrier of his ANIMA. ~Carl Jung, Jung My Mother and I, Pages 470
De Nerval had such extraordinary experiences in those moments of madness and phantasy he had. Pulling off his clothes publicly meant that he was depositing his earthly body. ~Carl Jung, Jung My Mother and I, Pages 471
One night, he was prowling around in Paris aimlessly and he came to a shop window where a mummy was displayed, then he came to a place where he hanged himself. It was called Rue de la Tuerie [Massacre Street]. The mummy suggested death already! ~Carl Jung, Jung My Mother and I, Pages 471
The Anima is like living on a planet where no human ever appeared, then suddenly a figure appears (the Anima) and you are surprised! ~Carl Jung, Jung My Mother an I, Page 471
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