On Dreams

Very interesting read. Freud's discussion of condensation, displacement and the combination of symbols in dreams is very thorough and convincing. A century after its publication, "On Dreams" is still a helpful text for understanding dreams and symbolism. However, I did have a few issues with this book, particularly with the idea that all dreams are repressed wish fulfillment fantasies. Freud seems to intentionally omit the whole idea of nightmares and his claim that children only have pleasant wish fulfillment dreams left me wondering how, as a psychologist, he had never come across the phenomenon of night terrors. Also, when in the second to last chapter he states that the majority of dreams are just repressed erotic fantasies, Freud seems to undercut his whole argument for the need for dream interpretation (for if all dreams are just repressed erotic fantasies, why do we even have to analyze them?). But on the whole, this is an interesting book, and a nice, relatively easy-to-read introduction to Freud and dream interpretation. ( )

At 45 pages this is a rather concise and accessible version of his longer The interpretation of Dreams.

At fisrt I was a bit dissapointed what my 6 euro's bought me, but after reading it I was actually content.

Een mooie en korte uiteenzetting van Freud's theorien over dromen. Helder geschreven en volkomen duidelijk. Of het allemaal waar is is een tweede, maar ja..... ( )