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| Timothée Chalamet |
The archetype of the eternal youth; in the case of men it's the puer aeternus; for women, it's known as the puella aeternus or the Kore, daughter of Demeter. The puer aeternus is characterized by disorder, intoxication, whimsy, and pure instinct. The positive side of the puer manifests as spontaneity, openness to change, renewal, and hope for the future. The negative side is childish, passive, irresponsible, with a tendency to waste their life "waiting for his/her ship to come in." His opposite is the senex.
The puer is a person who never grows up, who often has too great a dependence on their mother/father or a parent-like lover. They live a provisional life, fearful of ever being trapped or tied down while at the same time filled with fantasies of a future in which the world finally realizes their greatness. Because of this they often fail to accomplish anything, waiting for a future that never comes while their life passes them by.
The solution to this overly one-sided attitude toward life is living the senex, the responsible older man, or, in the case of the puella, the Mother/Crone.
[The world] makes demands on the masculinity of a man, on his ardour, above all on his courage and resolution when it comes to throwing his whole being into the scales. For this he would need a faithless Eros, one capable of forgetting his mother and undergoing the pain of relinquishing the first love of his life.- Jung, "The Syzygy: Anima and Animus," CW 9ii, par. 22
The "eternal child" in man is an indescribable experience, an incongruity, a handicap, and a divine prerogative; an imponderable that determines the ultimate worth or worthlessness of a personality.- Jung, "The Psychology of the Child Archetype," CW 9i, par. 300
Edit (12/18/19):
Was going back over my old blog, Queen of the Night and came across this on a post about Dionysus, who is one of the archetypal puer figures in Greek mythology (along with Adonis):
Dionysus men lack "real world" goals. They're questing for principles, and haven't yet discovered these principles. They enjoy resting or doing nothing-especially if alcoholic beverages are available. When faced with a decision they let their partner decide, saying, "I'll be happy with whatever makes you happy."Hmmmm... Sounds like someone I know (Puer-chan). Not surprisingly, the Dionysus man's ideal romantic partner is... Demeter. The Great Mother. No surprise there, lol.
A Dionysus man has a close relationship with his mother-a "mama's boy." He's her "divine child," with a sense of specialness or destiny. In adult life, a Dionysus man may resent people not recognizing his specialness, e.g., when they expect him to do mundane work. He may have mood swings between low self-esteem and ego inflation. He may have substance abuse issues. "Wounding" is central to Dionysus. "Wounding" can be a life-threatening illness, e.g., cancer, which makes a man feel as if he has been dismembered and then reassembled as a new person. Or "wounding" can be a painful experience that forces an individual to break from "the flat ennui of numbing conformity to cultural and familial expectations.
Archetypal relationships: Demeter & Dionysus (Queen of the Night)
Posts
Attis' sacrifice
See also
Senex
Other sources
Problem of the Puer Aeternus, by Marie-Louise von Franz
See also
Senex
Other sources
Problem of the Puer Aeternus, by Marie-Louise von Franz
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