36 pages 1 hour read

Sigmund Freud

On Dreams

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1901

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

Dreams as Expressions of Desire

Humans have a long-standing fascination with dreams. Dreams were studied in ancient cultures, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, for their divine properties and ability to impart wisdom. Dreams have had many meanings for many distinct cultures. For some, dreams help people remember. For others, dreams help people forget. Current dream theory states that the neocortex reviews all the information from the day and releases unnecessary information, resulting in dreams. For Freud, dreams were about wish fulfillment. He saw dreams as a collection of images and symbols from daily life that represent unconscious desires. Psychoanalysis was a means by which patients could engage in free association and speak openly about their dreams, following the many paths the images might lead.

Freud argued that the unconscious desires represented in dreams are erotic in nature. He points to infantile sexuality as the source of these desires. The wishes symbolized in dreams are hidden through a process of repression and displacement, and Freud suggests these wishes have been repressed due to their sexual nature. The brain utilizes censorship to inhibit infantile sexuality from reaching consciousness. Freud maintains that all people are affected by the sexuality of their youth and have held onto certain sexual desires from their childhood.

Related Titles

By Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

Beyond the Pleasure Principle

Sigmund Freud

Beyond the Pleasure Principle

Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

Civilization And Its Discontents

Sigmund Freud

Civilization And Its Discontents

Sigmund Freud

Plot Summary

logo

Moses and Monotheism

Sigmund Freud

Moses and Monotheism

Sigmund Freud

Plot Summary

logo

The Freud Reader

Sigmund Freud

The Freud Reader

Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

The Future of an Illusion

Sigmund Freud

The Future of an Illusion

Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud

The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

The Uncanny

Sigmund Freud

The Uncanny

Sigmund Freud

Study Guide

logo

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

Sigmund Freud

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

Sigmund Freud