The Evolution of Jung's Ideas on the Transference

It Is Not surprising that a writer as prolific as Jung should frequently contradict himself, and, as his experience and thinking deepened, that his later views should differ from earlier ones. Jung's natural development, combined with his tendency to write directly from his feelings, and his intuitive and non-systematic approach, led some critics to say that a quotation can be found somewhere in his work to support any viewpoint. In order to understand, evaluate and amplify Jung's thought his ideas must first be organised and presented in a manner that makes it clear what he said. This question led me, with regard to the transference, to follow the evolution of his ideas systematically. Though his major writings on the subject of the transference span thirty-four years, from ‘The theory of psychoanalysis’ (1) to ‘The psychology of the transference’ (11), Jung's thinking is remarkably consistent. The principal changes in his ideas spring from a continuous deepening and enriching of his initial insights. This is true except for the value of the transference in analysis, where Jung shows a remarkable and uncharacteristic contradictoriness.

My paper presents Jung's ideas on the transference as they developed during his lifetime. Where his initial insight did not evolve significantly, only his original viewpoint will be presented. I will also discuss current misunderstandings about Jung's methods of interpreting the transference and make some speculative comments on the one area in which he is inconsistent.

Throughout his writings Jung maintained that the personal, infantile component of the neurosis, which manifests in the transference, must first be analysed reductively. This is first stated in Jung's earliest