Carl Jung on “Banality” – Quotations
Carl Jung Depth Psychology Facebook Group
He [Jung] gave himself to the everyday. Another aspect of this text is a reappreciation of the banal, of what he as an intellectual had shunned, of turning back to the smallest things, of realizing that the ultimate truths were not necessarily remote but could be recovered in the simplest of pleasures. ~Sonu Shamdasani, Lament of the Dead, Page 14
My whole being was seeking for something still unknown which might confer meaning upon the banality of life. ~Carl Jung, The End of Meaning and the Birth of Man, Page 2
The more uncommon these highest truths are, the more inhuman must they be and the less they speak to you as something valuable or meaningful concerning human essence and being. Only what is human and what you call banal and hackneyed contains the wisdom that you seek. ~Carl Jung, The Black Books, Vol. II, Page 208
So—you see even banal reality is a redeemer. I thank you, dear friend, and I bring you greetings from Salome. ~Scholar’s Daughter to Carl Jung, The Red Book, Pages 262-3.
But the small, narrow, and banal is not nonsense, but one of both of the essences of the Godhead. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 230.
Banality is my element. ~Carl Jung’s Soul, The Red Book, Page 317
In the East, yoga is not exactly what we would describe as a religious matter. An Indian would laugh at us if yoga were considered a religious act. It is completely banal and quite as ordinary as brushing our teeth is with us; it is not exaggerated or even hysterical. ~Carl Jung, Psychology of Yoga and Meditation, Page 235
The fairy tale is the great mother of the novel
The Red Book: A Reader’s Edition (Philemon)
[Carl Jung: the fairy tale is the great mother of the novel, and has even more universal validity than the most-avidly read novel of your time.]
She: “What can you do for me? You have already done much for me. You spoke the redeeming word when you no longer placed the banal between you and me. Know then: I was bewitched by the banal.”
I: “Woe is me, you now become very fairy-tale-like.”
She: “Be reasonable, dear friend, and do not stumble now over the fabulous, since the fairy tale is the great mother of the novel, and has even more universal validity than the most-avidly read novel of your time. And you know that what has been on everyone’s lips for millennia, though repeated endlessly, still comes nearest the ultimate human truth. So do not let the fabulous come between us.”
I: “You are clever and do not seem to have inherited the wisdom of your father. But tell me, what do you think of the divinity; of the so-called ultimate truths? I found it very strange to seek them in banality: According to their nature, they must be quite uncommon. Think only of our great philosophers.”
She: “The more uncommon these highest truths are, the more inhuman must they be and the less they speak to you as something valuable or meaningful concerning human essence and being. Only what is human and what you call banal and hackneyed contains the wisdom that you seek. The fabulous does not speak
against me but for me, and proves how universally human I am and how much I too not only need redemption but also deserve it. For I can live in the world of reality as well or better than many others of my sex.”
I: “Strange maiden, you are bewildering-when I saw your father, I hoped he would invite me to a scholarly conversation. He did not, and I was aggrieved at him because of this, since his distracted slackness hurt my dignity. But with you I find it much
better. You give me matters to ponder. You are uncommon.”
She: “You are mistaken, I am very common.”
I: “I can’t believe that. How beautiful and worthy of adoration is the expression of your soul in your eyes. Happy and enviable is the man who will free you.”
She: “Do you love me?”
1: “By God, I love you-but-unfortunately I am already married.”
She: “So-you see: even banal reality is a redeemer. I thank you, dear friend, and I bring you greetings from Salome.”
With these words her shape dissolves into darkness. Dim moonlight penetrates the room. Where she stood something shadowy lies-it is a profusion of red roses. ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, The Castle in the Forest, Pages 262-263.
