Man and His Symbols
by Carl G. Jung
Contents
The initial dream
Overview
Henry reports an elaborate first dream that foreshadows his individuation: he leaves a passive group, gets lost, accepts guidance from a wise old woman, and ascends beside a cog railway past “dead” blue men.
Reaching shelter amid a cloudburst, he accepts further advice, signaling a shift from sterile intellect toward balanced feeling, guidance, and renewed social connection.
Summary
Henry dreams he joins unknown hikers headed to the Zinalrothorn but stops for theatricals, passively watching a young robed woman perform. Restless at noon, Henry sets out alone toward a pass, leaves his gear behind, loses orientation, and finds himself back in the valley, ashamed to ask directions.
An old woman appears and shows Henry the way, requiring him to start from a different point. Accepting her guidance implies sacrificing rigid rationality in favor of a deeper wisdom. Henry climbs beside a cog railway on the right side as little cars descend on the left, each hiding a bloated blue man said to be dead.
The disembodied voice declaring them dead marks the Self’s intervention, revealing Henry’s sterile, overintellectualized attitudes. At the turnoff, people await and lead Henry to an inn. A cloudburst follows, symbolizing release and sacred fertilization; Henry regrets leaving his rucksack and motorcycle but accepts advice to retrieve them the next day, yielding again to guidance.
The analysis links Samaden and Jenatsch with a liberation motif, the red “rothorn” with underdeveloped feeling, and the actress with Henry’s anima and depressive ambivalence. The ascent and shelter show his ego can act independently, then rejoin the collective. The dream anticipates a path from passivity and lifeless formulas toward matured balance after trials.
Who Appears
- HenryDreamer and analysand; struggles between passive spectatorship and active ascent; accepts guidance toward balanced development.
- Old woman (guide)Wise helper who redirects Henry’s route, symbolizing archetypal feminine wisdom over rigid rationality.
- Voice in the dreamAuthoritative pronouncement that the blue men are dead, signaling the Self’s insight.
- Young robed womanPathetic performer evoking Henry’s anima and depressive, romantic identification.
- Analyst-narratorInterprets the dream’s anticipatory value and symbolic guidance for Henry’s individuation.
- Bloated blue menDescending figures in cars; represent Henry’s lifeless, sterile intellectual attitudes.