Oct. 8, 2026
Father-son dynamics in Jungian analysis | Susan E. Schwartz PhD
📚 Read the book: Absent Fathers, Yearning Sons: A Jungian Analysis of the Father-Son Dynamic by Susan E. Schwartz
https://bookshop.org/a/130680/9781032974972
Browse all books by Thresholds guests:
https://bookshop.org/lists/thresholds-of-consciousness-book-list
I link to Bookshop.org rather than Amazon because purchases there support independent bookstores. I'm a Bookshop affiliate, so a small commission from your purchase also helps sustain this show, at no extra cost to you.
Susan Schwartz, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and the author of Absent Fathers, Yearning Sons. In this conversation, we explore what happens when the father-son bond is missing not just physically, but emotionally, and how that absence lives on in the body, in relationships, and across generations.
We talk about Freud and Jung's own absent fathers and how that shaped their relationship and their work, why so many fathers struggle to express love, the myth of the son leaving the father's kingdom, and what it means for a son to be truly "seen." We also go deep into the body: how father absence shows up as disconnection from embodiment, the split between logos and eros, and what the myths of Narcissus and Daedalus and Icarus reveal about envy between fathers and sons.
0:00 Cold open
1:14 What prompted the book
6:11 Freud, Jung, and their own absent fathers
12:13 Why fathers struggle to express love
24:21 Absence beyond the physical
30:30 A repair story: father and adult son reconnecting
32:32 Cultural models of emotionally present men
34:30 The body: fathers, sons, and disconnection from embodiment
40:37 Body, the feminine, and eros vs. logos
47:41 Intergenerational contamination (I Ching hexagram 18)
54:35 Kafka and his father — the "vampire" father image
56:57 Envy between father and son (Daedalus and Icarus)
1:06:04 Self-hatred and the after-effects of envy
1:13:20 Relatedness and "depth"
1:16:18 Numbness and its disguises
1:22:42 Being seen
1:24:13 Where to find Susan's work
Music by: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-for-videos
License code: RU0NIRSMWWA8SF7T
Artist: : Yunior Arronte
Thresholds of Consciousness is a production of Madrone Hollow Productions
© 2026 Scott Menasco
All rights reserved.
scottmenasco.com
*The content presented on this channel is intended for educational, informational, and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, diagnosis, or professional advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host*
https://bookshop.org/a/130680/9781032974972
Browse all books by Thresholds guests:
https://bookshop.org/lists/thresholds-of-consciousness-book-list
I link to Bookshop.org rather than Amazon because purchases there support independent bookstores. I'm a Bookshop affiliate, so a small commission from your purchase also helps sustain this show, at no extra cost to you.
Susan Schwartz, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and the author of Absent Fathers, Yearning Sons. In this conversation, we explore what happens when the father-son bond is missing not just physically, but emotionally, and how that absence lives on in the body, in relationships, and across generations.
We talk about Freud and Jung's own absent fathers and how that shaped their relationship and their work, why so many fathers struggle to express love, the myth of the son leaving the father's kingdom, and what it means for a son to be truly "seen." We also go deep into the body: how father absence shows up as disconnection from embodiment, the split between logos and eros, and what the myths of Narcissus and Daedalus and Icarus reveal about envy between fathers and sons.
0:00 Cold open
1:14 What prompted the book
6:11 Freud, Jung, and their own absent fathers
12:13 Why fathers struggle to express love
24:21 Absence beyond the physical
30:30 A repair story: father and adult son reconnecting
32:32 Cultural models of emotionally present men
34:30 The body: fathers, sons, and disconnection from embodiment
40:37 Body, the feminine, and eros vs. logos
47:41 Intergenerational contamination (I Ching hexagram 18)
54:35 Kafka and his father — the "vampire" father image
56:57 Envy between father and son (Daedalus and Icarus)
1:06:04 Self-hatred and the after-effects of envy
1:13:20 Relatedness and "depth"
1:16:18 Numbness and its disguises
1:22:42 Being seen
1:24:13 Where to find Susan's work
Music by: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-for-videos
License code: RU0NIRSMWWA8SF7T
Artist: : Yunior Arronte
Thresholds of Consciousness is a production of Madrone Hollow Productions
© 2026 Scott Menasco
All rights reserved.
scottmenasco.com
*The content presented on this channel is intended for educational, informational, and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, diagnosis, or professional advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host*