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Life As A Man
While the anima has archetypal roots, recall that the mediation of that experience is essentially by way of the personal mother, then by other females in the boy’s life and by the images available in his surrounding culture. …
To the extent that men are unaware that the anima is within, they search for Her in other women, flee Her, oppress Her, ask Her to be Beatrice in their underworld, anesthetize Her pain through work or drugs. They overlook the presence of Her in their dreams, in their soul’s flight, in the company of other men, in camaraderie with women, in art and music and sport, and in their fantasies and transient madness. The man who denies that the mother-child relationship is fundamental, that it influences everything he feels about himself, about life and about others, lives in profound ignorance. And, of course, that of which he is ignorant will be projected onto others. Even his deepest sexuality is fueled by this projection. When he is with Her, connected again, however transiently, he is home.
Most men consider the conditions of their working life a daily battering. No perks, no car, no key to the executive washroom, and even no raise will assuage the daily loss of soul. A man understands, deep down, that he is selling his soul, and no paycheck is large enough to compensate…
