How do this flight of stairs and this woman get into my dream? Being
ashamed because one is not fully dressed, is undoubtedly of a sexual
character; the servant of whom I dream is older than I, sulky, and not
in the least attractive. These questions call up exactly the following
occurrences: When I make my morning visit at this house I am usually
seized with a desire to clear my throat; the product of the
expectoration falls upon the steps. For there is no spittoon on either
of these floors, and I take the view that the stairs should not be kept
clean at my expense, but by the provision of a spittoon. The
housekeeper, likewise an elderly and sulky person, with instincts for
cleanliness, takes another view of the matter. She lies in wait for me
to see whether I take the liberty referred to, and when she has made
sure of it, I hear her growl distinctly. For days thereafter she refuses
to show me her customary regard when we meet. On the day before the
dream the position of the housekeeper had been strengthened by the
servant girl. I had just finished my usual hurried visit to the patient
when the servant confronted me in the ante-room and observed: “You might
as well have wiped your shoes to-day, doctor, before you came into the
room. The red carpet is all dirty again from your feet.” This is the
whole claim which the flight of stairs and the servant-girl can make for
appearing in my dream.
An intimate connection exists between my flying over the stairs and my
spitting on the stairs. Pharyngitis and diseases of the heart are both
said to be punishments for the vice of smoking, on account of which
vice, of course, I do not enjoy a reputation for great neatness with my
housekeeper in the one house any more than in the other, both of which
the dream fuses into a single image.
I must postpone the further interpretation of this dream until I can
give an account of the origin of the typical dream of incomplete dress.
I only note as a preliminary result from the dream which has just been
cited that the dream sensation of inhibited action is always aroused at
a point where a certain connection requires it. A peculiar condition of
my motility during sleep cannot be the cause of this dream content, for
a moment before I saw myself hurrying over the steps with ease, as
though in confirmation of this fact.
(_d_) _Typical Dreams_
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