Quote: Eldredge writes from a Christian perspective and says a man needs a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live. Both authors say a man often seeks something from a woman that she can never give him (his masculinity). Eldredge says you have to get that from God and Deida essentially says you give it to yourself ("realize that you already have what you seek").
Jung says that a man's soul is feminine (anima) and a woman's soul is masculine (animus). When we fall in love, we feel that we have connected with our own soul-- that's why it's so powerful. We see our deepest self reflected back to us by our partner. That's why there's this sense of "coming home" and "finally, someone who sees INTO me" when we first fall in love (and in an ideal universe that feeling continues throughout the R, at least as an undercurrent.) The man's anima can serve as inspiration and muse for a lifetime of work, art, accomplishment... it's a very powerful force.
A sensitive, caring woman will respect the role she plays in carrying and reflecting her man's soul image and take it seriously. This is very cool stuff.
Books that help with the Jungian POV are "He" and "She," tiny books by Robert Johnson.
