Aspects of the Psychology of South African Women

analyst. The psychology of white women in South Africa is rooted in the traditions of women in Europe, but there are differences due to local social and historical factors. One of the most powerful formative influences is the contact with Africans. Jung has described, with his vast erudition and insight, the inter-penetration of racial influences in the psychology of Americans.’ Many of his findings are applicable to the South African situation. But there are special circumstances in South Africa which also produce problems peculiarly its own. The writer has ventured into this complex and difficult field for two reasons. Firstly, it has been a matter of practical necessity, because at the deepest analytical levels the ’areas ’ of social transition correspond to the intrapsychic problems of the patient. Secondly, it seems probable that the racial experience of the South African may be of more than local interest. Violent and bitter feelings have been projected from many parts of the world upon South African racial issues. The intensity of these feelings suggests that they stem from an unconscious response to a similar challenge. In many countries the black and white races are now learning to live together either on a new basis or for the first time. This paper is an attempt to describe the relationship of the white South African women to the African, and to examine some aspects of the white woman’s intrapsychic response. The description of the field of racial contact is confined to the unspectacular but immensely formative intimacy of daily life. In the typical South African situation this implies contact with Africans in the role of servants. The social situations described are typically urban. They do not cover * This article first appeared in Harvest (7. 1961), a journal for private circulation to members of the Analytical Psychology Club, London.