The work of Erich Neumann
20.5
Page 5 of 5
Taking turns in leading the way
But things change in early adulthood. By now, boys have not just developed a reasonably well-practiced Self-awareness but also a world view of their own. This gives him well-ordered possibilities to function within society, whereas girls become aware that they are less capable of taking such a stance.
So in psychological development, girls will first take the lead, and in Self-awareness, boys will go step out first.
In the interaction between the masculine and the feminine, for example within a marriage, both sexes go through their own developmental process, taking the lead in turns.
Female emancipation
The process that the soul’s feminine pole goes through, is a process of acknowledging and reorienting itself to the deeper roots of life. In order to be able to create a field for its own development, this pole needs a Self-point, which she derives from the masculine quality.
In her relation with the masculine, this point is developed within her by induction. Detaching from the symbiotic identification with the mother is the first inevitable step on this path. In this process she cannot imitate the masculine, but still has a need for it (7.1).
Male emancipation
For the emancipation of the adult male, he must acknowledge himself within – and therefore also apart from - the social and professional networks he belongs to. He must learn to see and break through the power of the Self (the father figure). Standing in his position and obligations, he will find this mirror in his relationship with the feminine, both within himself and in the outside world. He cannot follow the path that his partner goes either, but for his own development, he does need her to go her own way.
Other parties share in their emancipation
In this way, individually and together, they achieve a state of maturity and equal partnership in which the partial character of man and woman evolves into a more general human consciousness. Mothers and mother-in-laws also partake in this process of becoming fully human.
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