Emma Jung — The Bravery and Grace of Betrayed Wives
Was turning a blind eye really the honorable thing to do?
For every searching soul to become involved with Jungian psychology, there’s been an equally perplexed individual trying to make sense of the great analyst’s personal life. The famous relationship between Carl Gustav and — former patient turned Jungian analyst — Toni Wolff has fascinated budding Jungians for generations, all the while casting a deep shadow over both their legacies. Visiting the C.G. Jung House-Museum in Kusnacht recently, I was struck by how reluctantly the attendants there spoke of Toni.
In a low, demure tone, the attendant there informed an unaware visitor that the picture on Jung’s desk was of his “collaborator” and, hardly above a whisper, “his lover”.
Suddenly, I felt we’d trespassed into the 18th century, and having a lover outside your marriage was all hush-hush. The sort of business that could destroy someone’s career and legacy.
In trying to better understand their relationship, and studying Wolff’s own work in psychoanalysis, I keep coming across conflicting information. While some claim it was Jung’s decision to begin a relationship with Toni in 1913, others argue that vice-versa, it was all done on Toni’s initiative. One thing that everyone seems to agree…
