What makes the witch still so compelling to our imaginations? How does
the clown reach through our tears to our laughter?
The witch gives us a picture of power in the feminine, of feminine
intellect and spirit, primordial in its force, authoritative in its
wisdom. The clown gives us a picture of the soft feeling hidden within
the masculine, which men must turn to, receive, and embrace.
The Ulanovs explore these figures in a unique way-not as mere literary,
anthropological, or historical themes, but in terms of what they mean to
people in the actual living of their lives, in facing their problems and
potentialities. Women especially need to face the witch in themselves to
open to the power she embodies. Men facing the witch in themselves must
deal with this fearsome power firsthand, no longer blaming women for it.
Men need to face the vulnerable feelings behind the clowning masks, and
open to the largeness and range of life they have hidden from in their
elaborate clowning defenses. Women facing their own clowning can
penetrate behind their masks to find more of their own hidden strength
in feeling.
Ann Belford Ulanov is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New
York City and on the faculty of the C. G. Jung Institute of Analytical
Psychology. She is professor of Psychiatry and Religion at Union
Theological Seminary.
Barry Ulanov is Mcintosh Professor of English and Chairman of the
Program in the Arts at Barnard College. This book represents the
Ulanovs' fourth collaborative work.
