Elined Prys

Elined Prys (alternate spelling: Eluned Pryce ; 16 February 1895 – 30 June 1983), also known as Elined Prys Kotschnig, was a Welsh Jungian psychoanalyst and Quaker pacifist.

Born in Wales, Elined Prys studied psychology at Aberystwyth and then became involved in relief work in Europe with student Christian groups. In 1924, she was part of the delegation that delivered the Women's Peace Petition to President Coolidge in the USA. The same year, she married Walter Kotschnig. She studied Jungian psychoanalysis in Geneva and was interested in the intersection with Quaker beliefs. She moved to the USA in 1936, where she worked as a psychoanalyst. She founded the Friends Conference on the Nature and Laws of the Spiritual Life and was editor of the Quaker magazine, Inward Light.

Early life

Elined Prys was born on 16 February 1895 in Trefeca to Owen Prys and Elizabeth Parry.

In January 1918, while at university, she planned a conference in Aberystwyth to discuss The Best Pathway to Peace, where supporters of World War I and pacifists could discuss a Christian view on peace. It was cancelled due to "hooliganism threats".

Career In 1920, she led the World Student Christian's relief work with refugees of World War I. This took her to Vienna, where she met Walter Kotschnig, her future husband.

In 1925, she moved to Geneva,

In 1944, she moved to Chevy Chase, MD, near Washington D.C., when her husband began working for the government. After World War II, she attended the Jung Institute in Zurich to qualify as a psychoanalyst, and then established a private practice as an analytical psychologist in Washington. In 1967, she co-founded a local chapter of the C.G. Jung Working Group.

She retired around 1979.

Personal life Elined Prys married Walter Kotschnig on 10 December 1924 at the Welsh chapel of the Presbyterian Church in London. They had three children; she was survived by two of them.

She joined the Society of Friends in 1927, establishing meetings in Northampton, MA in 1938, and was still a member at her death.

Despite living elsewhere for more than 60 years, she felt a strong and connection to Wales.

Death Elined Prys Kotschnig died on 30 June 1983, aged 88, following a stroke at a Quaker retirement facility in Newtown.

Legacy Elined's family donated her personal letters from 1919–1924 to the National Library of Wales.

In 2024, the Senedd paid tribute to the centenary of the Women's Peace Petition.