Celebrating Jungian Analyst Marie-Louise von Franz

"Marie-Louise von Franz ranks among the greatest of all Carl Jung's proteges. Yet, surprisingly, no biography has emerged to chronicle her career, though she lived into the Age of the Internet. This year, marking the 110th anniversary of von Franz's birth in Munich, Germany, seems an appropriate time to highlight her work and its vital legacy for us today. Von Franz first met the world-famous Jung in 1933, when she was only 18 years old and newly accepted by the University of Zurich."

"The occasion was a small party at Jung's "Bollingen Tower" residence on Lake Zurich with several other teens, including one whom Jung already knew personally. The group eagerly discussed psychology with the renowned yet jovial Jung, who seemed to the impressionable von Franz as a venerable, wise-old Methusaleh (her words). Following that memorable encounter, she began to read Jung's books and carefully analyze her own dreams."

"While taking courses mainly in classical philology and classical languages (Greek and Latin) at the University of Zurich, von Franz was also minoring in literature and ancient history. After avidly attending Jung's lectures at the Swiss Federal Polytechnical School in Zurich (now the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), she decided, in 1934, to initiate therapeutic analysis with him. The catalyst: A perplexing dream which she felt Jung could meaningfully interpret and thereby help spur her inner growth."

Marie-Louise von Franz was a leading figure in Jungian psychology who wrote extensively on fairy tales, ancient mythology, and literature. She first met Carl Jung in 1933 at age 18 and began analyzing her dreams under his guidance. She studied classical philology, Greek, Latin, literature, and ancient history at the University of Zurich while attending Jung's lectures. In 1934 she began therapeutic analysis with Jung after a perplexing dream. She served as analyst trainer at the C.G. Jung Institute, emphasizing dreamwork and synchronicities. Her unfinished work explored connections between the human psyche and quantum reality. No full biography has yet appeared.

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