OK, thanks for the clarification . I think there is a strong "existentialist" theme in Eva myself.Aletheia wrote:Most likely we are, it will become much more obvious when I translate my idea of subjective/objective opposition using terminology typical for continental philosophy to a Same/Other opposition. There, now it is much more clear (I hope) that I meant exactly what you described as internal and external reality.
Yes, I agree with this.Aletheia wrote:There is a subtle, yet important difference between the animus and the anima according to Jung. The anima is the unconscious feminine component of a man and contains the ?feminine traits? such as submissiveness, need for relatedness, emotionality and gentleness. The animus is the unconscious masculine component of a woman and contains the ?masculine traits? such as dominance, need for independence, rationality and aggressiveness.
You mention a "traumatic" experience, and Asuka did have that with her mother (e.g. Ep. 22 "Mama, Mama, Please, don't kill me! No ! I am not Mama's doll. I will think for myself, and I will live on my own."). This might have been repressed and activated her animus (i.e. unconscious processes pertaining to the animus impinge upon the conscious ego), resulting in "masculine traits" (like high intellect since she graduated from uni at 14). I don't think this is too far fetched.Aletheia wrote:Jung was confident that this is the only possible combination, in other words that there are no women who have dominant masculine traits as their ego and dominant feminine traits in their unconsciousness. Personally I, as well as many current day psychoanalysis theoreticians, believe that Jung?s anima/animus theory is particularly inept and does not adequately reflect reality. Still, since we are looking at NGE from Jungian perspective, I decided to stress the fact that Asuka strongly tries to underline her ?masculine? traits. Therefore Jung would probably have to interpret it a sort of ?overintegration? with her animus, probably as a result of trauma and negative experiences concerning her mother, Asuka chose to reject her more ?feminine? traits which she associates with her mother and ?become? her own animus figure. This is the best Jungian interpretation of Asuka I can come up with, but still I personally find it too far fetched.
Also, IMHO, I think it has to be remembered that the animus is just part of the unconscious of a female and not the totality. For example, there is the "mother archetype" (basically, it consists of characteristics of the mother and exists in both males and females; hence, Jung did not discount the possibility of a woman having feminine traits in the unconscious) which can form a mother-complex (I won't explain it here, but it is detailed in CW9(i), ChapterII). A "negative mother complex" means that a woman will resist aspects of the "mother" consciously; to quote from CW9(i), PG90:
And on PG91, my bold and italics:The motto of this type is: Anything, so long as it is not like Mother!
So another way for Asuka to show masculine traits is to have a negative mother complex (which also fits in with the Asuka quote mentioned). Also, a woman with a negative mother complex can have masculine traits in the ego, so Jung didn't discount that possibility either.Again, resistance to the mother can sometimes result in a spontaneous development of intellect for the purpose of creating a sphere of interest in which the mother has no place .... [b]Intellectual development is often accompanied by the emergence of masculine traits in general.
So I agree with you that the anima/animus concept has its limitations in reality, but I think it is entirely possible to give an explanation of Asuka's behaviour using Jung, without being too far-fetched. Also, with Jung, a woman can have masculine traits in their ego and/or feminine traits in the unconscious.
I agree that you might be able describe her in these terms, but IMO, it might be harder to include factors such as Asuka's Evangelion having Kyouko's soul. Also, I believe Asuka had some "dreams" e.g. I think there was one where there was a crowd of people, and I think Jung can help to explain these - e.g. Jung found that crowds in dreams are a common sign of unconscious unrest.Aletheia wrote:I would rather describe her through a "will to power" Nitezshean perspective, an Adler's "need for superiority" or even Hegel's "master and slave dialectic".
Of course, feel free to come up with your own threads with your analyzes using these frameworks.
Originally posted on: 23-Apr-2007, 02:56 GMT