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The princess to be redeemed, appearing in so many fairy tales, clearly points to the anima.
Since, however, the story shows that the princess was there before the swan, this surely hints at an original state of unity and wholeness, which was ended by the enchantment, and must now be recreated.
The idea that a primal condition of perfection was destroyed, by either the sinful attitude of men or the envy of the gods, is a very ancient concept, forming the basis of many religious and philosophic systems.
Evidences of this are the Biblical doctrine of man’s fall, Plato’s originally spherical primal being which split into halves, and the Gnostic Sophia imprisoned in matter.
In psychological terms we say that life’s demands and the increasing development of consciousness destroy or mar the original wholeness of the child.
For example, in the development o[ masculine ego consciousness the feminine side is left behind so remains in a “natural state.”
The same thing happens in the differentiation of the psychological functions; the so-called inferior function remains behind and, as a result, is undifferentiated and unconscious.
Therefore in the man it is usually connected with the likewise unconscious anima.
Redemption is achieved by recognizing and integrating these unknown elements of the soul ~Emma Jung, Animus and Anima, Page 58-59
