Synopses & Reviews
Christiana Morgan was an erotic muse who influenced twentieth-century psychology and inspired its male creators, including C. G. Jung, who saw in her the quintessential "anima woman." Here Claire Douglas offers the first biography of this remarkable woman, exploring how Morgan yearned to express her genius yet sublimated it to spark not only Jung but also her own lover Henry A. Murray, a psychologist who with her help invented the thematic apperception test (TAT). Douglas recounts Morgan's own contributions to the study of emotions and feelings at the Harvard Psychological Clinic and vividly describes the analyst's turbulent life: her girlhood in a prominent Boston family; her difficult marriage; her intellectual awakening in postwar New York; her impassioned analysis with Jung, including her "visions" of a woman's heroic quest, many of which furthered his work on archetypes; her love affairs and experiences with sexual experimentation; her alcoholism; and, finally, her tragic death.
Review
The Christiana Morgan who emerges from this book is a fascinating woman, profound, imaginative, bold, and experimental. Her story is illuminating and deeply sad. But Morgan was ultimately a rebel. . . . Even now she defies categorization: as a psychologist, as a lover, and perhaps even as a feminist symbol. -- The New York Times Book Review Douglas's combination of biographical and analytic investigation invites a rethinking of what constitutes the psychic factors of women's lives and the psychology of gifted women in particular. [This book] brings a much-needed challenge to the post-Jungian and post-Freudian worldview. -- Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Washington Post
Review
"The Christiana Morgan who emerges from this book is a fascinating woman, profound, imaginative, bold, and experimental. Her story is illuminating and deeply sad. But Morgan was ultimately a rebel. . . . Even now she defies categorization: as a psychologist, as a lover, and perhaps even as a feminist symbol."--The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Douglas's combination of biographical and analytic investigation invites a rethinking of what constitutes the psychic factors of women's lives and the psychology of gifted women in particular. [This book] brings a much-needed challenge to the post-Jungian and post-Freudian worldview."--Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
"Douglas's book is important in showing the kind of person who was drawn to this psychology and how it did and did not help such seekers in the furthering of their lives. It makes the human side of the effort to transform individual existence through immersion in the archetypes of the psyche poignantly evident."--John E. Beebe, III, M.D.
Synopsis
Christiana Morgan was an erotic muse who influenced twentieth-century psychology and inspired its male creators, including C. G. Jung, who saw in her the quintessential "anima woman." Here Claire Douglas offers the first biography of this remarkable woman, exploring how Morgan yearned to express her genius yet sublimated it to spark not only Jung but also her own lover Henry A. Murray, a psychologist who with her help invented the thematic apperception test (TAT). Douglas recounts Morgan's own contributions to the study of emotions and feelings at the Harvard Psychological Clinic and vividly describes the analyst's turbulent life: her girlhood in a prominent Boston family; her difficult marriage; her intellectual awakening in postwar New York; her impassioned analysis with Jung, including her "visions" of a woman's heroic quest, many of which furthered his work on archetypes; her love affairs and experiences with sexual experimentation; her alcoholism; and, finally, her tragic death.
Synopsis
"Douglas's book is important in showing the kind of person who was drawn to this psychology and how it did and did not help such seekers in the furthering of their lives. It makes the human side of the effort to transform individual existence through immersion in the archetypes of the psyche poignantly evident."--John E. Beebe, III, M.D.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 366-381) and index.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART ONE CHRISTIANA
ONE Family Trees and Their Fruit
TWO A Turn-of-the-Century Girl
THREE "God Help Me, Is All I Can Say"
FOUR Like a Stain of Blood
FIVE The Clouds of War
SIX Maybe Forever
SEVEN The Origin of the Hero
EIGHT Brother and Sister
PART TWO WONA AND MANSOL
NINE The Whale
TEN Let's Do It, Harry!
ELEVEN Thunders and Agitations
TWELVE The Red and Gold Diary
THIRTEEN The End of the Chase
FOURTEEN The Hidden Last Act
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index