Animus and anima in fairy tales. The Cat: A Tale of the Rebirth of Femininity

This book combines two works by Marie-Louise von Franz, who dedicated a significant part of her life to the psychological interpretation of fairy tales and myths - "Animus and Anima in Fairy Tales" and "The Cat: A Tale of the Rebirth of Femininity". In these works, she examines such central concepts of Jungian analysis as "animus" and "anima" - unconscious structures manifesting as the feminine principle in the psyche of a man and the masculine principle in the psyche of a woman. The foundation of the study of these concepts is the psychological interpretation of various folk tales. In particular, in the work "The Cat: A Tale of the Rebirth of Femininity", she reflects on the symbolism of images from the Romanian fairy tale about a cursed princess-cat, revealing important themes of the liberation of the feminine principle and the union of opposites. The basis for these works were lectures given by M.-L. von Franz at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich in the 1950s, of which she was a co-founder.
The book is of interest to educators and students in psychology and other humanities faculties, as well as to a wide range of readers.