Puer Aeternus
Submitted by Jonathan on February 06 1999 at 21:25:40
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I am a tragic romantic looking for the puer aeternus, my savior-type, and this is not unusual. Carl Jung talks about the puer aeternus. It is very liberating to know that I "fit in" to a larger group of people looking for the boy-savior, the puer aeternus, and that it does not necessarily have anything to do with sexual drive or tendencies. In many ways we live today with a Freudian hang-over. I know I worried a great deal about the longing and passionate desire I have had for the boy-savior precisely because of the sexual aspect. However, without having actually read Jung at great length (beyond Man and His Symbols)I think he would say that it does not necessarily have anything to do with the sexual, which would be diametrically opposed to Frued. Puer Aeternus can be seen in literature and that gives some comfort in that it lets me know I am not alone and, what is more, not alone in my deification of youth. I don't know what personality type Mark Twain was but I think Tom Sawyer was puer aeternus or has become the embodiment of eternal youth -- an icon of puer aeternus. Clearly Peter Pan is puer aeternus. My savior-type, then, is this eternal boy with divine, messianic qualities. This would/does strike many people as odd but the youth is explained easily. Youth entails life, health, vivrancy, energy, peace, happiness, hope, beauty (yes, physical as well as beauty in other ways), strength (mental and spiritual as well as physical, which I think would have more to do with endurance than merely the ability to lift weights), expectation, etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum. This may seem strange to many people, I think, especially in our culture today because we unconsciously live with what I have called a "Freudian hangover." Telling people about my inner drive for or toward a "boy-savior" with the above description would, I believe, spark questions from many people concerning my sexuality. I know I worried about and struggled with the sexual relationship to the puer aeternus. What I was also constantly telling myself, or even really reminding myself, was that the sexual was not what I was after or even wanted. This caused a great deal of confusion and turmoil (and still does). I wondered where or how the sexual could have slipped in unawares and taken root univited and yet at the same time never fit in with what I was after. Eventually one might have expected me to become comfortable with the idea but I never completely did. Well, this is what I mean by the "Freudian hangover." If I passionately long for my savior-type who is an eternal youth then (according to Freudian psychology) something is wrong or out of sync or off-balance. Freud had a profound influence on Western civilization and one deadly contribution he made was tying so much to the sexual. Now I may consciously reject Freudian psychology but his impact was so profound and his influence ran so deep that in the back of my mind I think in Freudian terms. In other words, my desire for the puer aeternus must have a sexual aspect according to the Freudian mindset, which I have acquired by virtue of growing up when and where I have, so eventually a real sexual issue did start cropping up. Thank you Sigmund Frued! As I said, it was very liberating for me to discover that what I had been telling myself all along was right. Sex is not the point, not even beginning to be. The longing for my puer aeternus is something completely other and unto itself such that it is not even necessary to say the sexual is not a part of it. Sex could be or may not be but that is not the point of the puer aeternus ... and that is the point! You see, puer aeternus is for me, and I suppose for others, just what I have said all along: savior. To focus on the sexual aspect is to miss the whole point. I was never, and again I knew this and reminded myself of this, after a sexual relationship. No! I was after a savior! And for me, the tragic romantic, it makes sense that my savior-type entails eternal youth, which becomes th e puer aeternus. It also makes sense that my boy-savior is not a typical boy but could out-match any adult. Here again you have the healthy, happy, beautiful and vivrant youth who is able to conquer all -- albeit never for his own sake because he is not interested in "conquering" but would do this only for you in so far as it helps you, saves you in a good way -- and able to make all the monsters go away -- again for your sake because he is past being scared of monsters in the closet but still young enough to believe they're there. So I am confused and struggling. I am looking for puer aeternus, my savior-type. I would welcome any thoughts or input on this subject. I certainly would welcome an e-mail from puer aeternus! Jonathan |