A mythic journey of psychological transformation and the development of the self
The renowned tale of Amor and Psyche, from Apuleius's second-century Latin novel The Golden Ass, is one of the most charming fragments of classical literature. In this landmark book, Erich Neumann reveals how this timeless story is an exemplar of feminine psychology. Unfolding the spiritual and mythical background of the pagan narrative, he shows how the contest between the mortal maid Psyche and the great goddess Aphrodite over the god Amor-Aphrodite's son, Psyche's husband-yields surprising and valuable insights into the psychic life of women. A classic work by one of the most brilliant figures of the twentieth century, Amor and Psyche offers a profound meditation on the tensions between the conscious and unconscious, the feminine and the masculine, and the known and unknown. Erich Neumann (1905–1960), a psychologist and philosopher, was born in Berlin and lived in Tel Aviv from 1934 until his death. His books include The Fear of the Feminine, The Great Mother, and The Origins and History of Consciousness (all Princeton). "This book is highly revealing and seems to me to show how scholars in the future must treat these old stories, the myths which are apparently so childish and yet are so haunting, stimulate so many artistic imaginations, and outlast many philosophical doctrines, many statements of so-called scientific fact."-Gilbert Highet, author of The Classical Tradition
"Here we have a very subtle and suggestive analysis of the psychological characteristics of the feminine by the most brilliant disciple of C. G. Jung, who indeed matches his master in that same area where Jung himself was most creative, namely, the psychological exegesis of tales and myths of the past. . . . The reading of this short book is a most enchanting and stimulating experience."-Hans Hofmann
