The dream work often succeeds in representing very awkward material,
such as proper names, by means of the forced utilisation of very
far-fetched references. In one of my dreams the elder Bruecke _has given
me a task. I compound a preparation, and skim something from it which
looks like crumpled tinfoil._ (More of this later on.) The notion
corresponding to this, which was not easy to find, is “stanniol,” and
now I know that I have in mind the name of the author Stannius, which
was borne by a treatise on the nervous system of fishes, which I
regarded with awe in my youthful years. The first scientific task which
my teacher gave me was actually concerned with the nervous system of a
fish—the _Ammocœtes_. Obviously the latter name could never have been
used in a picture puzzle.
I shall not omit here to insert a dream having a curious content, which
is also remarkable as a child’s dream, and which is very easily
explained by the analysis. A lady relates: “I can remember that when I
was a child I repeatedly dreamed, that the _dear Lord had a pointed
paper hat on his head_. They used to make me wear such a hat at table
very often, so that I might not be able to look at the plates of the
other children and see how much they had received of a particular dish.
Since I have learned that God is omniscient, the dream signifies that I
know everything in spite of the hat which I am made to wear.”
Wherein the dream work consists, and how it manages its material, the
dream thoughts, can be shown in a very instructive manner from the
numbers and calculations which occur in dreams. Moreover, numbers in
dreams are regarded as of especial significance by superstition. I shall
therefore give a few more examples of this kind from my own collection.
1. The following is taken from the dream of a lady shortly before the
close of her treatment:
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