The feral boy: archetypal image of pathos in a dream series

ABSTRACTThe figure of a half-human, half-feline boy appearing in a dream series of a middle-aged businessman suffering from job burnout is investigated from a Jungian perspective, noting its relevance to Jung’s concept of eros as a relatedness principle as well as an example of the puer aeternus or eternal child archetype. Further investigation into the feral boy figure reveals its compensatory function: a reaction to the dreamer’s regression to a more primitive state of self-identity and forced alienation from his business profession and his private life. Additional references to the feral boy from the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization provide evidence of the figure’s identity as an archetypal image of pathos, arousing sympathetic pity that leads to reconnecting the dreamer with his societal and familial responsibilities.