The Anima as Psychopomp

n.p. . n.d. [c1970].

Two volumes. 254x202mm. pp. 7 [1bl], 42. 6 illustrations; 47 [1bl], 9 illustrations. Typed pages stapled at left edge with green card covers on the first volume and orange on the second. Some marks and toning on the covers and four of the leaves have been repaired with coloured tape at the edges. An utterly bizarre (and unrecorded) home-made production of which we have been unable to find another copy. At first sight, on encountering the photocopied illustrations, this would appear to be a fantasy work for rubber fetishists. Indeed, it probably is, but the title hints at something more interesting. The preface describes the story as a "case study" of a middle aged man who had reached a "point of no return" in his life and is seeking "an Unconscious solution to a Conscious problem". He finds an answer in "Unconscious fantasy". He is the conscious mind of the author. The submissive, dominated young woman Claire is the author's unconscious mind and Claire's wicked step-mother is the author's super-ego. The title is a reference to the Jungian concept of the "anima" which represents the feminine aspects of a man's psyche. And a psychopomp is a spirit that guides deceased souls to the world beyond. Thus our hero is redeemed and led to a new consciousness through his engagement with the feminine who is herself liberated. The rubberwear might seem an odd way to explore these ideas until, on a cursory exploration of the internet, one unearths a recent study on "The Deep Psychology of BDSM and Kink: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on the Soul's Transgressive Necessities".