LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Jung Center of Houston presents The Presence of the Feminine.  Author and analyst Virginia Apperson explores the meaning of the feminine through film and the participants' experience.

Friday Night at the Movies: Dangerous Beauty
Friday, May 15
7:30 pm | Free

What is the feminine? Despite years of progress within the women's movement, the feminine archetype has plenty of wilderness yet to be explored. By her very nature, the archetypal feminine is hard to describe - emotional, relational, closer to the instinctual and natural world. All too often, our more "civilized" approach has been to tame, control and demonize these sides of ourselves. And the feminine within us tragically complies by adapting to others' expectations while abdicating her unique authority.

The film Dangerous Beauty shows us a different way. Based on a true story, this film introduces us to Veronica Franco, a sixteenth century Venetian courtesan who has been tutored in the fine art of lovemaking, poetry and conversation. Ironically, Signorina Franco is a remarkable role model for those of us in search of feminine strength.

Following the screening, visiting Jungian analyst Virginia Apperson will reflect on the film's portrayal of the feminine, which will be explored in greater detail during her Saturday workshop.

Workshop: O Sister, Where Art Thou?
Saturday, May 16
10 am - 4:30 pm (1.5 hour lunch break)
$90 ($80 Jung Center members)

Why do so many of us instinctively feel that something essential is sorely missing from our lives? We live in a remarkable time - a time in which our intellectual prowess is unsurpassed and seems to grow in leaps and bounds. We can soar to the moon, design life in a test tube and condense the entire encyclopedia into a tiny chip. But what do we lose in our turbocharged pursuit of technological perfection? Are we living dangerously unbalanced lives where our masculine energies are given far more credence than the feminine?

Men and women alike suffer the severe consequences of a marginalized feminine. What sets the feminine apart? Why does she so easily give in to the masculine? Why do we feel such trepidation about empowering our feminine attributes? How can we help the feminine to thrive in this world?

In this workshop, we will use film to explore the contemporary appearance of the archetypal feminine. Movies magnify not only all too familiar, unhealthy patterns that mirror our lives, but also transformative potential that can help us get realigned. We will delve into Dangerous Beauty to excavate the very precious, but too easily idealized—and quickly maligned—archetypal feminine, with the aim of integrating her more fully in our lives. Men are welcome—and needed—in this discussion.

After Virginia Apperson, PhD, completed her training at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, she returned to Atlanta, Georgia where she is in private practice. In addition to her analytic work, she sees couples and leads dream groups. She has recently co-authored The Presence of the Feminine in Film (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008) with John Beebe, and is a training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (IRSJA).