Puer Aeternus is a child who never grows up, a forever male child. The term has deep psychological significance and refers to the people who remain in their childhood forever. Though they grow up physically, their mental growth is stalled. The term Puer Aeternus was used by C.G Jung in psychological reference. Jungian psychology or analytical psychology can be seen as a play between motherly and fatherly forces. As per Jungian psychology mother is the love of earth, it pulls the children to stand still at its place. Father is about growing up seeing and confronting the world. A Puer Aeternus is forever attached to the mother, always lamenting about freedom but never really wanting it. The neurotic forces make him utterly dependent on his mother.
Puer Aeternus has its pros and cons. The pros of an “eternal child” are that he has the room for expansion. Growth and development is possible with such a person. He is innocent and true like a child and yet there are plenty of negative aspects. First and foremost negative aspect stems from the dependence on mother. The person can never be able to leave the security of home – a safe sanctuary. The behavior makes him to shun facing the world. Fatherly forces are about facing the world head on to meet the challenges and carving one’s own destiny. Puer Aeternus becomes just like the character of the play “Waiting for Godot”. He remains waiting for a savior to arrive and solve all his problems.
Puer Aeternus
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