Next day she was again put into hypnosis and went into a deeper
state than the day before. She was asked whether she thought of the
crazy woman occasionally, she replied in the negative. The patient
spoke in a low, suppressed voice, the words coming out slowly, as
if with effort and with fear. It was then insisted that she should
tell one of her recent dreams. After some pause, she said: “Last
night I had a bad dream; I dreamt that I stood near a window and a
cat came up to the same window. I saw it was crazy. I ran away, the
cat ran after me and scratched me. Then I knew that I was crazy. My
friends said there was no help for me.
“I dropped the baby, ran, and jumped down stairs. I remember now
that when I fell asleep I saw a woman, maybe the crazy woman. I
covered myself; I knew I was only afraid, and that she was not
real. Six weeks ago I saw the same woman, when falling asleep or
when asleep. I ran away, and she ran after me.”
Mrs. A. in relating these dreams, shivered all over and was afraid,
as if actually living the dream experience over again. “It was this
woman who caught me in her arms, kissed me, and embraced me, and
did not let me go, until my screams brought friends and my father;
they took me away from her by force.”
Gradually some more dreams emerged. “I dreamt some time ago that
the woman came to me and spilled hot water on me. Another time I
dreamed that I was in the insane asylum; she came out, told me she
was well; I was greatly frightened and ran away.”
Mrs. A. then became quiet. After a while she began to relate a
series of dreams. Some time ago she dreamed that the woman entered
the room where her father was and ran up to him, evidently with the
intention of hurting him. Her father ran away, and she hid herself
in a closet in the next room. “I also dreamt that the woman was
shadowing me in an alley. She wanted to get hold of me, while I was
trying to get away from her. I turned round, and she gave me such
a fierce look. I ran and she could not catch me. I should die, if
she catches me. In one of my dreams about her, I saw people putting
cold water on her, and I could hear her scream. It was awful. I
dreamt I went upstairs, opened the door and met her. I was badly
frightened. I jumped out of the window.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account