Indeed it must be that, with the consoling prognosis: “Dysentery will
develop, &c.,” I am making fun of Dr. M., for I recollect that years ago
he once jokingly told a very similar story of another colleague. He had
been called to consult with this colleague in the case of a woman who
was very seriously ill and had felt obliged to confront the other
physician, who seemed very hopeful, with the fact that he found albumen
in the patient’s urine. The colleague, however, did not let this worry
him, but answered calmly: “That does not matter, doctor; the albumen
will without doubt be excreted.” Thus I can no longer doubt that
derision for those colleagues who are ignorant of hysteria is contained
in this part of the dream. As though in confirmation, this question now
arises in my mind: “Does Dr. M. know that the symptoms of his patient,
of our friend Irma, which give cause for fearing tuberculosis, are also
based on hysteria? Has he recognised this hysteria, or has he stupidly
ignored it?”
But what can be my motive in treating this friend so badly? This is very
simple: Dr. M. agrees with my solution as little as Irma herself. I have
thus already in this dream taken revenge on two persons, on Irma in the
words, “If you still have pains, it is your own fault,” and on Dr. M. in
the wording of the nonsensical consolation which has been put into his
mouth.
_We have immediate knowledge of the origin of the infection._
This immediate knowledge in the dream is very remarkable. Just before we
did not know it, since the infection was first demonstrated by Leopold.
_My friend Otto has recently given her an injection when she felt ill._
Otto had actually related that in the short time of his visit to Irma’s
family, he had been called to a neighbouring hotel in order to give an
injection to some one who fell suddenly ill. Injections again recall the
unfortunate friend who has poisoned himself with cocaine. I had
recommended the remedy to him merely for internal use during the
withdrawal of morphine, but he once gave himself injections of cocaine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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