I caught sight of a woman [Toni Wolff] three years ago
In an entry on November 15, 1913, Jung’s “I” said to his soul:
“I caught sight of a woman [Toni Wolff three years ago, whose soul seemed to me more valuable than my marital anxiety. I conquered my fear out of love for her.”
The woman in question was Toni Wolff Only a few fragments of her diaries from this period (1912- 13) have surfaced.
Regrettably, those spanning 1913-24 have not survived, with the exception of some theoretical notes from 1916.
The diaries from 1924 onward center around the trials and tribulations of her relationship with Jung.
There are illuminating retrospective comments, as well as entries from which one can extrapolate to some extent on the nature of their collaboration during this critical period. ~Sonu Shamdasani, The Black Books, Vol. 1, Page 27
I dreamed then (it was shortly after Christmas 1912), that I was sitting with my children in a marvelous and richly furnished tower chamber—an open columned hall—we were sitting at a round table, whose top was a marvelous dark green stone.
Suddenly a seagull or dove flew in and landed with light feathers on the table.
I admonished the children to be quiet, so that they would not scare away the beautiful white bird.
Suddenly this little bird turned into a child of eight years, a small blond girl, and ran around playing with my children in the marvelous columned colonnades.
Then the child suddenly turned into the gull or dove.
She said the following to me: “Only in the first hour of the night can I become human, while the male dove is busy with the twelve dead.” With these words the bird flew away and I awoke.
My decision was made. I had to give all my faith and trust to this woman [Toni].
You know, my soul, what blessing was bestowed through that upon me, my wife [Emma], and my house.
I cannot express it all in words, what flourishing and beauty sprang from that for me.
I do not want to talk about the torments that I rightfully had to endure—all these are more than offset by the abundance of beauty and elevation which I was allowed to experience. ~Carl Jung, The Black Books, Page 148
Toni Wolff Biography
Antonia (Toni) Wolff(l888-1953), analytical psychologist and teacher, was for over 40 years a member of Jung’s closest circle.
Born into a distinguished Zurich family, after her father’s death in 1910 her mother sent her to C.G. Jung, a young psychiatrist, for treatment.
Her aptitude for psychology was immediately evident, and she quickly became a leading exponent of Jung’s thought.
From the time of Jung’s break with Freud in 1912, she was a trusted confidante and co-worker with Jung, occupying an important place in his life.
In his letters of 1947 and 1948, White often includes Toni Wolff in his closing greetings.
Wolff became President of the Zurich Psychological Club for a brief time after its founding in 1916.
She then held the presidency, with short breaks, from 1926 until she retired in 1952.
From 1948 until her death she taught at the Jung Institute, on whose founding committee she served with Jung and C.A. Meier.
At the founding of the Institute, April 1948, Jung singled out her essay,” [“Introduction to the Foundations of Complex Psychology”] as “a work distinguished for its philosphical clarity.”
[The Cultural Meaning of Complex Psychology] (1935), were republished after her death as [Studies in Jungian Psychology]
Jung’s Foreword to the latter edition appears in CW 10, Civilization i11 Transition (§887-902, pp. 4691f). ~Jung-White Letters, Page 38, fn 49
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