Mitch is silent for a minute and then speaks with considerable emotion: “
“Yes, these two songs and several others appeal directly to my emotional state. I particularly like to listen to them when Joan is present. I also always attend the theater productions with my wife. We are deeply bonded when listening to these songs and others that Joan particularly enjoys. . . . There is another song that touches me deeply. It is ‘Music of the Night’ from Les Miserable.”
Dr. Jung chimes in:
“Yes, I know that song very well. It is all about the mystery swirling around the night when the music is being played. This song is an extraordinary representation of how the anima swirls around as a mystery in our own psychic theater.”
Dr. Jung pauses at this point and then offers the following comment:
“I have brought up this matter of music and the anima not to serve as a music critic, but rather to suggest that our relationship, as men, with women is often filled with the mysterious, near, but also ancient and far presence of the anima in these women. We fall in love with them, fall in awe with them, or simply are animated in working with them. We might not be working as an artist, but women can be our muses and can motivate us to creative and cutting-edge work.”
Dr. Jung pauses once again, and expands on his comments regarding the pull of anima (and animus):
“The term ‘resonance’ is sometimes used to describe what is occurring. Just as two people can “fall in love” by finding that their emotions and thoughts are resonant with one another, so the anima and animus of two people can resonant, with the feminine anima of the man resonating with the masculine animus of the woman. It is all unconscious, but very real in terms of the powerful emotions that are elicited.”
Then, after another pause, Dr. Jung offers another comment:
“There is another side to keep in mind. The resonance can lead us, as men, to misjudge the competence and intentions of a woman. We don’t see the real women, but only the women enacting the role of anima in our psychic theater. . . . As a leader in an organization that is facing many challenges, you need to be particularly thoughtful (a masculine characteristic) in working relationship with women you admire and on whom you often depend.”
Mitch immediately offers a reflection and question:
“Perhaps, my pull toward Gwen is based in part on this anima factor. She is very competent and highly motivated to do great work. However, I also know, in all honesty, that I am a bit “in love” with her. I absolutely have done and will do nothing inappropriate but do know that I ‘light up’ when she enters the room—much as I ‘light up’ when my wife enters the room. Is this all wrong on my part? Should I not feel this way? After all, she is much younger than I am and I certainly have good reasons to value her judgment and her work. What should I do?”
