“It is an outstanding peculiarity of unconscious impulses that, when deprived of energy by lack of conscious recognition, they take on a destructive character, and this happens as soon as they cease to be compensatory” – C.G. Jung
In the last letter, we reviewed the primitive attributes of introverted feeling as a shadow type. In this letter, we will consider it as a shadow projection, and also in its destructive oppositional role to extreme one-sidedness.
Introverted Feeling as Projection
All functions participate in the psychic economy and we are trying to understand how they behave. The least developed function in the psychic economy will function outside of conscious direction, and a variety of fates befall this function. The activity, being outside of conscious direction, is seen by the subject as happening elsewhere. Then we speak of projection. A positive projection would see the developed qualities of this function, and a negative projection would see the undeveloped qualities of this function. Projections can fall on people, organizations, or situations.
Positive projection: When introverted feeling functions, to some degree, in compensation of the dominant orientation, the projection will likely contain the positive elements of introverted feeling. Then we see in projection the finely tuned activities of introverted feeling that knows to evaluate creatively, such as new ideals. The recipient of this projection appears as a balanced and creative person. The shadow projection can be experienced by the initiator as jealousy, but can be used positively as a helpful indication for the direction for individuation.
Oppositions in type preference can often be found between married couples, and then the projection falls on the partner. The challenge is to allow compensation and thereby growth. When the husband, with inferior introverted feeling, can allow his wife to encourage his ethical insights, impressing beauty and truth as holistic ideals, she can be very helpful to him. His attention to human values is enhanced. Such a relationship flourished between the former USA president Franklin Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. The additional gain could have been that Roosevelt withdrew projections of personal conflict from his work.
Introverted Feeling as Opposition to Extreme One-sidedness
Negative projection: Negativity increases relative to the over reliance on the dominant function.
“It is an outstanding peculiarity of unconscious impulses that, when deprived of energy by lack of conscious recognition, they take on a destructive character, and this happens as soon as they cease to be compensatory” (CW 6, par. 574).
When extreme undeveloped introverted feeling is projected, it falls on another individual, situation or organization, which is seen as judgmental, critical, full of ambition or tyrannical. Additionally, during moments of fatigue or stress the shadow personality can take the upper hand. The impulse then is to hand out negative judgments, be tyrannical, combining vanity and despotic bossiness with unscrupulous ambition.
The fairy tale “The Six Swans” could be used as an example showing the problem of ‘bringing up’ introverted feeling. Six brothers are bewitched, to redeem them the sister needs to remain dumb for six years. She is accused of killing her children and is at the point of being burned at the stake, when her brothers in swan form arrive. She gives them the shirts she has made for them and they are immediately transformed into men. And so the truth comes out.
The bewitching of the brothers could be seen as the (undeveloped introverted feeling) shadow. It is the witch who hands out negative judgments, is tyrannical, combining vanity and despotic bossiness with unscrupulous ambition. The sister (introverted feeling) cannot immediately tell/reveal anything but must work diligently on the real human qualities of her brothers.