Central Symbolism of the Feminine

Woman=Body/Vesssel/World/Nature

Three Archetypal Spheres of Feminine Symbolism:

• HOUSE: (womb) Woman's body=first house (container) and first clothing; woman's weaving and spinning provide protection for body. Click here for an illustration, a detail from Hieronymus Bosch's painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony” (Prado Museum).
• TABLE: (milk) Woman's body=first provider of nourishment; woman's cooking provides food. Click here for an illustration, a detail from a fifteenth-century painting by Sano di Pietro (Siena Pinocoteca).
• BED: (sexuality) Woman's body=provoker and arouser of sexuality; bed is place of sex, birth, sleep, death. Click here for an illustration, Paul Cezanne's painting “The Eternal Feminine” (Getty Museum).

Two Characters of The Feminine (Elementary And Transformative): the two ways in which the archetypal feminine manifests itself to consciousness, two tendencies which shape feminine archetypal symbolism. This terminology, the concept of the structure of the feminine archetype, and the following diagram are adapted from Erich Neumann, The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype (Princeton University Press, 1963).

All parts of the diagram should be interpreted from the perspective of the individual ego, usually symbolized by a hero figure. Thus the same sort of imagery may appear as positive or negative depending on the perspective of the hero (e.g., containment is positive when the ego needs protection and negative when it is ready for growth). Since elementary figures are always depicted as superior in power to the ego, these are labelled on the diagram as M+ or M- (for mother); as peer figures, images of the transformative feminine are designated as A+ or A- (for anima). Click on the intersection of the circles and linear axes for more information and images; if your browser does not support image maps, you may click on the following terms instead: Positive Elementary—red circle, green circle, blue circle; Negative Elementary—red circle, green circle, blue circle; Positive Transformative—red circle, green circle, blue circle; Negative Transformative—red circle, green circle, blue circle. Close the extra winow to return to the diagram.

Elementary Character of the Feminine:

• Key concepts associated with all Elementary feminine figures:
  • figures are older
  • figures are powerful, superior to ego (protagonist)
  • figures are maternal (positive or negative), static, cyclical
  • figures tend to act directly, out of their own power
  • symbolism tends to have a physical, bodily, corporeal accent
• Positive Elementary Figure (M+)—GOOD MOTHER
  • aids protagonist by her overwhelming power—protects, shelters, nourishes
  • tends to be associated with earth colors and vegetation imagery
  • has a matronly beauty
• Negative Elementary Figure (M-)—TERRIBLE MOTHER, OLD WITCH
  • attacks or destroys protagonist by her overwhelming power—traps, imprisons, devours, dismembers, castrates
  • tends to be associated with black & red colors and blood & death imagery
  • is ugly and/or has monstrous qualities (often accompanied by phallic symbolism)

Transformative Character of the Feminine:

• Key concepts associated with all Transformative feminine figures:
  • figures are younger
  • figures are peers, co-equal with ego (protagonist)
  • figures are dynamic, instigators of positive or negative change
  • figures tend to act indirectly, influencing and using the power of other people or things
  • symbolism tends to have a psychological accent
• Positive Transformative Figure (A+)—INSPIRING VIRGIN
  • aids protagonist by attracting and inspiring him (especially through sublimation of sexuality)
  • tends to be associated with pale or pastel colors (especially sky colors—blue & white)
  • has a natural, innocent, ethereal beauty
• Negative Transformative Figure (A-)—SEDUCTRESS, YOUNG WITCH
  • weakens or destroys protagonist by seduction, sexual allurement, enticement, negative enchantment
  • tends to be associated with vivid colors, especially red & black
  • has a full-bodied, voluptuous, exotic beauty