Pottenger Dennis. Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo. Cultural Complexes and the Redemptive Power of the Abjected Feminine

Routledge, 2021. — xvi, 246 p. — (Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies). — ISBN 978-0-367-70421-6, 978-0-367-70425-4, 978-1-003-14623-0.Alchemy, Jung, and Remedios Varo offers a depth psychological analysis of the art and life of Remedios Varo, a Spanish surrealist painter.List of figures.Prelude: Preparing the canvas.
The death of Remedios Varo and the science of all things.
Varo’s alchemical practice of painting and the problem of patriarchy.
The fructifying bonfire of trauma and death.
Putting the canvas on the easel: Surrealism, alchemy, and the unconscious.
The end as beginning: Varo’s dream of the executioner, last painting, and death.
Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle: Psychology, alchemy, and weaving the garment of a new world.
Voyage to the center of the inner world: The Feminine quest, the labyrinth, and the dangerous secret.
Cauldrons of color: Dead leaves and the alchemical movement between death, life, and rebirth.
Birds and eggs: Symbol of the liberated soul and image of immortality.
The dream of the executioner: A paradigm shift.
Mystical sisters: Varo, Carrington, the eternal Feminine, and the unmaking of patriarchy.
Kindred spirits: Varo, Carrington, and the possibilities of woman’s creative power.
Breaking out: Varo, Carrington, and blackening the patriarchal paradigm.
In the footsteps of Virginia Woolf: Humiliated Manhood and the re-visioning of the Feminine.
Alchemy in exile: Varo and Carrington in Mexico City.
The way they loved each other: The crucible of friendship and the unmaking of patriarchy.
Symbols of transformation: The golden key, the black door, and the inestimable value of the living third thing.
Imaginal dialogues: The alchemical treasure of the Feminine.