Interest in dreams has been manifested in all ages and by all races of
people. Dreams have profoundly influenced the lives of individuals and
the destinies of nations. There have been numerous books written on the
subject and countless theories, ideas and superstitions formulated with
reference to dream phenomena.
But notwithstanding this vast field that has been so long open for
exploration, study and research, it is only within comparatively recent
years--beginning with the epochal disclosures of Freud--that any real
substantial progress has been made in getting at a true understanding
of the nature of dreams and their processes.
The reason for this is the same as may be given for the slow progress
in all friends of scientific research. While dreams in the past
have been generally associated with the fantastic, the unreal,
the supernormal, when, indeed, not the supernatural, they are now
nevertheless connected with a definite science, and consequently great
strides have been made in recent years in understanding them.
The dream is always the fulfillment of a wish or craving of the
Unconscious. On the surface, this may seem like a rash statement, if
not an utter impossibility, as we have all experienced dreams that
were the very antithesis of our conscious desires and repugnant to
our feelings. But this involves a dual consideration; first, that the
dream represents a wish fulfillment of the _Unconscious_--the crude,
primitive, chaotic element of our personality, and is most frequently
influenced by long-forgotten infantile impressions and repressions;
secondly, that it is always highly symbolic, and does not express
itself in the language of the conscious mind.
To these essential points may be added the fact that the dream is
seldom remembered as it was actually dreamed. The version that is
remembered is termed the manifest content, and the wish concealed in
the underlying thoughts which produced the dream is known as the latent
content. The concealing of this latent content, as well as the lapse of
memory which accompanies it, is the result of a psychic resistance or
an attempt of the “endo-psychic” censor to prevent the true motive from
revealing itself.
Hence we have the symbolic dreams, which actually have to be translated
to enable us to arrive at their real meaning. This is the function of
psycho-analysis. The basic foundation of dreams lies in the wishes
of childhood which being unattainable were stored away in the
Unconscious. The long-forgotten wishes have normally disappeared into
the unconscious mind because of psycho-sexual development and social
inhibitions.
The manifest content of the dream is produced by four chief processes
which are called _condensation_, _displacement_, _dramatization_ and
_secondary elaboration_.
Briefly, these four terms may be described as follows: _Condensation_,
as the name implies, is the constant tendency of the dream, as
remembered, to be a very condensed version of the subject-matter that
arose from the depths of our unconscious mind. This also includes the
fusing together of dream-thoughts often resulting in a fantastic,
ludicrous effect.
_Displacement_, like condensation, acts as a potent distorting
mechanism. It signifies the process by which psychic importance is
transferred to a given element in the manifest content from quite
different unrelated elements in the latent content. This causes us to
place undue stress on comparatively unimportant details in the dream,
and to overlook as trivial other things that are really of basic
importance in the latent content of the dream.
_Dramatization_, refers to the symbolic properties of dream phenomena.
All dreams are more or less symbolized--most of them highly so.
The primary visual nature of dreams readily lends itself to this
characteristic which has been called “regard for presentability.”
_Secondary elaboration_ is that situation in which our consciousness
contributes to this extent: When experiencing an unpleasant dream,
the thought sometimes occurs to us, “This is only a dream; why worry?”
Nevertheless, despite this prompting of our Conscious, we still
continue dreaming--harassed on one side by the unpleasant factor of the
dream, and reassured on the other that it is not real.
The savage in the child, the archaic in man, still survives in us,
but is confined to that part called the Unconscious. It has not been
replaced or supplanted, but in most persons has been more or less
slightly veneered by the processes of civilization.
One of the characteristics of dreams is their apparent absurdity or
triviality. However, psycho-analysis has proven that there are no
absurd or trivial dreams. Every dream reflects a definite desire, wish,
or fear on the part of the person’s unconscious mind, which has an
untold influence over his thoughts and actions, notwithstanding his
conscious ideals when expressed in language.
Coriat (_What Is Psycho-Analysis?_) sums up the significance of dreams
and other manifestations of the Unconscious, and their value as
interpreting agencies, when he says:
Psycho-analysis presupposes that there is no mental effect without
its cause and consequently nervous symptoms are not chance and
haphazard products, but are related to definite mental processes
which are repressed in the patient’s Unconscious. This relation of
mental cause and effect is called _determinism_. By means of the
study of dreams and symptomatic actions and sometimes by use of
association tests, psycho-analysis traces out each symptom in the
patient’s life history. Sometimes these symptoms are found to be
deeply buried in the earliest years of childhood.
Without going extensively into the ramifications of dream phenomena, it
might be well to refer to certain typical dreams, which are the common
lot of practically every individual. These are also notable because
they usually have their origin in infantile impressions or sexual
motives, although the dream may be so thoroughly couched in symbolic
expressions that no actual sexual idea is apparent.
There is the dream of injury to, or death of, a parent or relative
near and dear to us. To suggest that we wish them harm is unthinkable.
This common type of dream has its basis in a temporary childish anger,
directed against the person in question, and which was accompanied by
the ill-wish that for ethical reasons was repressed.
It should be added that a child has a different conception of death
than an adult has. To the former it merely denotes an interruption of
the disturbing presence of a person, or of his being out of the way for
the time being. A dream of this kind invariably has its root, if not in
a true nuclear complex, then in an Oedipus tendency which survives in
the Unconscious.
Some trace of this can be found in every individual, and in it Freud
sees a definite incest wish toward the mother which lacks only
the attribute of consciousness. Moral reactions subject this wish
to repression through the functioning of the “incest barrier,” a
hypothesis that is compared to the “incest taboo” found among primitive
and inferior peoples.
One of the most common dreams is the so-called embarrassment dream of
nakedness. Freud has been led to consider this nakedness dream as an
exhibitionist quality revived in the Unconscious, and traces it back to
the universal tendency of children to disrobe, which affords them great
enjoyment and pleasure.
There is another type of dream that is not uncommon, and in a
pronounced form is called the anxiety dream or nightmare. Perhaps
the characteristics peculiar to this can best be described by Dr.
Hitschmann (_Freud’s Theory of the Neuroses_):
The dream picture accompanied by anxiety represents the patient
(usually female) oppressed by a great and dangerous beast which
threatens to throw itself on the dreamer; characteristically, it is
often a stallion or bull, thus, animals which have ever stood as
symbols of the potent strength of animal masculinity. It is easy
to see in these animal figures the symbolized givers of sexual
gratification forbidden by conscious thinking. A still plainer symbol
aiming at this end appears in dreams of burglars who, armed with
revolvers, daggers or similar instruments, press on upon the dreaming
lady. The starting up from sleep because of such anxiety-dreams, one
finds frequently in widows and ungratified women as a characteristic
kind of disturbance of sleep.
It has been remarked that the field of sexual symbolism is an
astonishingly rich and varied one, and that a great number are
definitely recognized as belonging to this category. Dr. Ernest Jones,
the Canadian analyst, maintains that “there are probably more symbols
of the male genital organ than all other symbols put together.” Thus
the dreamer who dreams of a snake, a dagger, a fish, or a bird, in no
way consciously regards these objects as a phallic symbol, and is
usually most unwilling, until the logic of the dream analysis forces
him, to accept this conclusion.
The symbolic expression of dream language bears remarkable likeness to
the symbolism of ancient mythology. This signifies to the student of
psycho-analysis that the Unconscious not only gets many of its deepest
impressions from early infancy, but that it has also inherited race
impressions that have been passed down through countless generations,
and that cause us to live over again in our dreams the ineffaceable
experiences of prehistoric ancestors.
One of the most typical of this class is the falling dream, an heritage
of the ape-man who lived in the trees. It is notable in these falling
dreams that we always catch ourselves, land safely or wake up in
the excitement which indicates that our progenitor who originally
experienced the shock that caused this indelible mental impression
that has become a biological fixture, also caught himself or fell to
comparative safety, else the impression could not have been carried
down.
The Unconscious dwells in a realm of phantasy, shuns the reality,
constructs its indomitable and superhuman heroes (Gods), and deals
summarily and mercilessly with its enemies. All the themes of mythology
and folk-lore have these common characteristics. Authorities have
attributed the origin of myths and fables to dream conceptions and
other manifestations of the Unconscious among primitive peoples.
Thus, Dr. Karl Abraham (_Dreams and Myths_) says: “The myth is a
fragment of the infantile soul life of the people, and the dream is the
myth of the individual.” Freud has stated this conclusion from his vast
experience in dream interpretations:
The investigation of this folk-psychologic formation, myths, etc., is
by no means finished at present. To take an example of this, however,
it is probable that the myths correspond to the distorted residue of
wish phantasies of whole nations, the secularized dreams of young
humanity.
Even earlier philosophers have sensed this great truth, as we observe
from Nietzsche (_Human All Too Human_):
In our sleep and in our dreams we pass through the whole thought
of early humanity. I mean, in the same way that man reasons in his
dreams, he reasoned when in the waking state many thousands of years.
The first _causa_ which occurred to his mind in reference to anything
that needed explanation, satisfied him, and passed for truth. In
the dream this atavistic relic of humanity manifests its existence
within us, for it is the foundation upon which the higher rational
faculty developed, and which is still developing in every individual.
The dream carries us back into earlier states of human culture, and
affords us a means of understanding them better....
The symbol as an expression of our unconscious desires is not by any
means confined to dreams. We do many things in our waking hours of a
symbolical nature, which satisfy our Unconscious without consciously
understanding their real significance. For instance, we throw rice
and old shoes at newlyweds without comprehending the true meaning of
the act. Consciously, we are following an old established custom; but
unconsciously we are doing something more important. We are giving
expression in a symbolical way to a wish that is quite appropriate for
the occasion, and which our standard of ethics would not permit us to
express in a more direct way.
During all ages and in folklore of all races, shoes have been a symbol
of the female genitals, and rice (or wheat or other common cereal) the
symbol of the male fructifying seed. Hence, we unconsciously indicate
the sexual character of the new relationship with the normal outcome
of fruitfulness or prolificacy, which the conventions of modern
civilization would not permit us to openly allude to in a direct manner.
_Everyone Dreams._--Many people taking exception to the Freudian
contention regarding dreams, assert that they rarely, if ever, dream.
There are very good scientific grounds for believing, not only that
everyone does dream, but that we dream continuously during our period
of sleep.
However, in the process of waking up in the normal manner, as we slowly
gain consciousness, the “censor” that figuratively stands at the gate
of our Unconscious subtly draws the veil over what has been transpiring
and we open our eyes with a feeling that our mind during the night has
been free from all thought or effort. Our conscious mind, of course,
has; our unconscious mind has not.
It has been proven by experimenting with persons who claimed they
“never dreamed,” that they do dream, and with a little practice they
can soon learn to remember their dreams. One of the best ways of
testing the accuracy of the “dreamless” sleeper is to wake him up
suddenly in the middle of the night or at a time he is unaccustomed to
be awakened. Invariably, it will be found, if immediately questioned,
that he has either a more or less distinct recollection of dreaming.
This is true if the sudden waking-up process occurs once in the
night--or twenty times. If a multiple of times, then it may be found
that the sleeper has experienced a different dream each time before
awakening. This gives strength to the theory that we are constantly
dreaming of something; the themes of the dream often rapidly changing
from one thing to another, sometimes blending into each other in an
incoherent mass--or constantly changing picture without apparent sense
or reason.
The fact, too, that dreams are highly symbolized, as before stated,
further emphasizes this impression. When analyzed, it is usually
found that the most important features or characters in the dream, as
remembered, are of little relative importance. On the other hand, some
minor detail or insignificant factor proves upon investigation to be of
prime importance.
Another deceiving feature of dream phenomena, which makes us believe
that we do not dream, is that immediately upon waking we are slightly
conscious of some disturbing feeling or annoying mental trend, but with
a slight effort pass it off. Instead of attributing it to a dream,
we offer ourselves the excuse that it was a noise we may have heard
outside the room or that we had just dismissed from mind an unpleasant
episode of the day before--just what, we cannot (or do not care to)
recall.
By this half conscious, semi-deliberate action, we bow to the will
of the censor and “forget” the dream. The very fact of the universal
“forgetting” of dreams confirms the existence of an agency which, for
the want of a better term, is called the censor.
If we had exercised sufficient determination or will power to pick
up the thread as it passed the outskirts of our consciousness, we
could have resurrected perhaps a little of what had preceded. And by
practice, it would gradually become possible to get more or less of a
logical mental picture of what had been transpiring in our Unconscious.
It is important to remember that the first waking impression of a dream
is the only reliable or trustworthy recollection we are able to get of
it. If a person, immediately upon waking, jots down the import of the
dream as he remembers it, and then later in the day recurs to the dream
of the night before, he will find not only that he has forgotten a good
part of it, but quite likely that he will even give a different version
of it. This is another evidence of the efficiency of the censor in
covering up the evidence of unconscious psychic activity.
The victims of anxiety-dreams (nightmares), however, experience no
doubt about their having dreams. In fact, until the cause of the
neurosis is removed, they suffer much from disturbances that result
from this manifestation of the Unconscious. The paradoxical feature
of these dreams is that they are a form of gratification--offering a
substitute means of gratification of the Unconscious for the lack or
denial of a normal form of obtaining pleasure or satisfaction.
In this connection, it may be said that relief is frequently obtained
from these anxiety-dreams or nightmares if the subject is made aware
of their true import. By understanding their symbolical meaning, the
shock is removed, even if the dreams continue in a milder form. It
often happens that when the person becomes conversant with the symbolic
significance of these dreams, the symbolism no longer recurs and dreams
of a sexual nature to the ungratified take place in an undisguised
form. Consequently, if the subject is enlightened and encouraged, there
is little distress felt, and the shock of the after-anxiety is largely
removed.
Freud maintains that the primary function of the dream is to protect
sleep by giving pleasurable activities to the unconscious psychic
processes that otherwise would tend to interfere with sleep. This
is appreciated when we consider that the unconscious processes are
perpetually in action, only prevented from entering consciousness by
the influence of the censorship. In sleep, therefore, this censorship
is lifted, allowing the unconscious wishes to take the field, and
express themselves with abandon, making up for the repressions to which
they are subjected during waking hours.
The dreams of children, in particular, afford easy access to the
workings of the Unconscious, because with young people, being less
sophisticated, and laboring under fewer social inhibitions, the dreams
are not so distorted by an excess of symbolization as is the case with
the adult. Nevertheless, there are still countless inhibitions to which
children are subjected, as we know from the constant admonitions:
“Johnny, don’t do this; Johnny, don’t do that,” etc. Dreams are the
removal of sleep-disturbing psychic stimuli by way of hallucinated
satisfaction.
_Day-Dreams._--Day-dreams, or phantasying, like their prototype of
our sleep, are also wish-fulfillments. They represent a tendency on
the part of the primitive side of our personality to retreat or get
away from reality; to realize and enjoy for a few brief moments the
unattainable.
We have all “built castles in the air.” Some of us have soared to
untold heights--if only to come down with a crash! Wishes are as common
to the beggar as to the king--perhaps more so, as the former has more
to wish for that would enhance his condition of life.
Unlike the dreams of our sleep, day-dreams are usually accompanied
by some effort; we tend to guide them, although this tendency in
many instances may be more apparent than real, as there is also the
influence of our Unconscious leading us on, whereas we may believe we
are directing it.
Day-dreams have both good and bad influences. If we develop the power
to co-operate with the unconscious psychic forces and to “exploit”
them through occasional use of the day-dream, we are on the way to
accomplishing some worth while work in life.
As a result of reveries or day-dreams, combined with some directed
thinking, the poet and the artist create their immortal works; and
the inventor gives to the world his epoch-making mechanical devices;
the scientist discovers natural laws of the universe and utilizes
the knowledge so gained for human progress; the ambitious student is
inspired and spurred on to reach some goal of constructive effort. Such
dreams have resulted in imperishable works of art and literature, and
great scientific and mechanical achievements, etc.
The evil side of day-dreaming is in letting the dreams run completely
away with us, which in the nature of themselves they tend to do,
instead of harnessing them to an object, or conquering them for a
purpose. Day-dreamers of this type are represented by the loafer of all
types and degrees. All lazy, indolent people work incessantly at this
unproductive occupation.
The immature youth, until he is taught by example and precept, or
forced by circumstances, is inclined to dream when not occupied with
play or work. Naturally the work is usually of a light, diverting
nature, and as play is an expression of the unconscious wishes, we see
how the Unconscious dominates the child almost completely. In most
cases it is merely a question of environmental conditions whether he
will dream himself down into a loafer, or up into communion with the
gods and become a creator of something worth while.
In other words, day-dreaming in moderation is desirable under proper
conditions. Its abuse is the abomination.
The chronic day-dreamer who becomes a victim of his fault is usually
a person who avoids social intercourse. He finds his pleasures in
dreaming, and he prefers to be alone so that his dreams may not be
disturbed. Thus, he becomes anti-social. He flees from reality whenever
the occasion presents itself--and he is always willing to make such
occasions--and finds refuge in the unreal world of his dreams. As a
result, no matter how shiftless or lazy, no matter how low he has
fallen in the social scale, his dreams enable him to realize his goal
of superiority.
In his dreams he is again in the fairy-land of his childhood longings.
The most absurd desires come true, and the dreamer is invariably the
favored fairy prince. This is true, whether the motif of his dreams is
clothed in the scenery of the early fairy tales--most often they are
not--or in the pictorial effects of contemporary life. In any event, he
is regressing to the infantile level.