The Angry Man

This is one of many dreams in this series where I struggle to come to terms with what Jung calls the animus, or a woman’s inner man.

The Dream: I am in the garage with an older man. He is dressed in a business suit. He resembles the man who plays the Lieutenant in Law and Order CI. He has a full head of salt and pepper gray hair, stylishly cut, and he is very meticulously dressed.

We are in some way wedged into a small space between the seats and the side door of the car. It is essential to get along since we’re in such close quarters. He is congenial enough to start, but when I imply that I could overcome him he becomes infuriated, frighteningly so. I back down and work to placate him.

Interpretation: Father is the first man to model male characteristics for most of us. In this dream I try to subdue the imago (my inner image) of the angry father. In Jungian terms: My animus has been infected by a rigid, authoritarian part of myself. This realization is drifting upwards toward consciousness, where it might be able to be recognized and integrated. My shadow animus and I are wedged into a space in which we don’t belong and which was never meant to accommodate us. I try to overcome this negative animus, but it’s too strong for me.