Sigmund Freud is a famous name in psychology, known for his psychodynamic theory, the Oedipus complex, and the Freudian slip. When we think of Freud, we almost always think of his infamous views, and one notable idea is his stance on dreaming. According to Freud, dreams are a manifestation of real-life and go through certain transformations to render them different and non-identical, although still symbolic, to real-life issues and situations.
a dream is the fulfilment of a wish, Freud (1900)
Freud coined the terms manifest content and latent content to describe his ideas mentioned above.
Latent content is the true dream, and manifest content is the symbolic representation used in dreams to obscure the latent content.
As seen in the Wolfman study (Freud, 1918), dream analysis allows us to understand the latent content by interpreting the manifest content. Dream analysis can ultimately be used to treat and understand psychological illnesses (as a form of psychotherapy). Let's explore the Wolfman study to truly understand dream analysis.
- First, we will delve into Sigmund Freud's theory on dreams through understanding the Wolfman study.
- We will provide a Wolfman summary, discussing Freud's analysis of the Wolfman's dream.
- Throughout the Wolfman summary, we will highlight various aspects of Freud's analysis, particularly the Wolfman dream and the primal scene.
The Wolfman Study (Freud, 1918) is an example of dream analysis, freepik.com/vladimircech
Sigmund Freud's Theory: the Wolfman Summary
The Wolfman study is a famous example of Freud's attempts to analyse dreams and interpret them to understand a person's behaviours.
The Wolfman study was a longitudinal case study between 1910-1914 of Sergei Pankejeff, a Russian man who Freud dubbed the Wolfman to protect his identity. Wolfman approached Freud due to psychological and mental health issues following his father's and sister's deaths (both said to be suicide). Freud interviewed Wolfman multiple times to learn more about his past, his relationships with his family (particularly his father and sister), and the potential reasons behind his mental health issues.
Freud discovered that the Wolfman had a specific dream and highlighted it specifically.
- The Wolfman dreamt that six to seven white wolves were sitting in a big walnut tree, which he could see at the foot of his bed, where a window was. The sight terrified him, Wolfman feared that the wolves would eat him, and he woke up screaming.
The Wolfman's Dream
The Wolfman dreamt of wolves in a tree and feared they would eat him. Freud found this dream to be particularly interesting and noted that the Wolfman described it as such (Freud, 1918):
I dreamt that it was night and that I was lying in bed. (My bed stood with its foot towards the window; in front of the window, there was a row of old walnut trees. I know it was winter when I had the dream, and night-time.) Suddenly the window opened of its own accord, and I was terrified to see that some white wolves were sitting on the big walnut tree in front of the window.
There were six or seven of them. The wolves were quite white, and looked more like foxes or sheep-dogs, for they had big tails like foxes and they had their ears pricked like dogs when they pay attention to something. In great terror, evidently of being eaten up by the wolves, I screamed and woke up.
My nurse hurried to my bed, to see what had happened to me. It took quite a long while before I was convinced that it had only been a dream; I had had such a clear and life-like picture of the window opening and the wolves sitting on the tree. At last, I grew quieter, felt as though I had escaped from some danger, and went to sleep again.
Although this may seem like an ordinary nightmare to some, Freud interpreted the symbolism in the dream in accordance with Wolfman's personal life, specifically relating it to his experiences and relationships.
Freud is famous for his views on a child's relationships with his parents.
The Wolfman dreamt about wolves and was afraid they would eat him, freepik.com/wirestock
Wolfman Freud Analysis: The Primal Scene
Freud analysed the dream according to events and relationships from Wolfman's past, so it's important we understand Wolfman's past. According to Wolfman, he had a good relationship with his father and aspired to be like him. His relationship with his sister was a little more complicated, with Freud referencing a somewhat incestuous relationship.
Wolfman's parents considered his sister to be more outgoing and boisterous than Wolfman, and the parents hinted Wolfman ought to be more like his sister. Wolfman's sister committed suicide in 1906, and in 1907 his father died of an overdose, another suicide.
Wolfman had issues throughout his childhood, such as a hysteric form of anxiety, where he developed a fear (phobia) of animals. He also developed a devout devotion to religious figures and typically engaged in obsessive behaviours.
Little Hans is another famous case of Freud's, wherein Little Hans developed a phobia of horses after witnessing an accident in the street involving the animal. Freud attributed Little Hans' fear of castration and his anxiety to Little Hans' father, linking it to the Oedipus Complex. Sometimes the horses Hans feared would resemble his father. Freud proposed that this was because he feared his father would castrate him.
The case is a little more complex than this summary, so reading up on Little Hans will help you understand how Freud interpreted trauma and mental health.
The events led to a series of psychological issues, including depression, for Wolfman. Let's explore Freud's analysis of Wolfman's dream:
- Freud suggested the dream represented trauma, deduced from a time when Wolfman had witnessed his parents having intercourse.
- The white wolves were the manifest content, and the latent content was the intercourse Wolfman witnessed previously, known as the 'primal scene'.
- The dream represented the trauma Wolfman had witnessed, the wolves symbolising Wolfman's father, in this case, and the white colour possibly referencing the bed sheets, according to Freud.
- Wolfman feared the wolves would eat him, and Freud interpreted it as a fear of castration from his father (castration anxiety).
- Overall, Wolfman's fear of wolves was in fact a fear of his father, with some links to the representation of penises (the dog's tails).
Freud stated the dream affected Wolfman's development, concluding that Wolfman had a displaced fear of his father. The deaths of both the sister and the father facilitated the development of his psychological issues. Freudian disciples tended to attribute Wolfman's issues in later life - long after his treatment with Freud had ended - to castration anxiety.
Criticism of Wolfman Freud Analysis
Freud's ideas, for many, were eccentric and tended to exist outside the scope of scientific-based theories. Even Sergei Pankejeff, the Wolfman himself, criticised Freud's interpretations:
- Wolfman said the concept that Freud was pushing was preposterous, and "The whole thing is improbable."
- Wolfman further supported his claims of the improbability of the theories, insisting the trauma event likely never happened as children slept with the nannies and not with the parents.
- Many notable figures in psychology dismissed the conclusions Freud posited as well, stating they were also speculative and lacked scientific credibility.
Freud Wolfman Study - Key takeaways
- Sigmund Freud believed dream analysis could aid the recovery of certain psychological ailments and be used as a form of psychotherapy.
- Sergei Pankejeff, a Russian man who Freud dubbed the Wolfman to protect his identity, approached Freud as he had psychological ailments affecting his health, including depression.
- Wolfman dreamt he was in bed and could see six to seven white wolves sitting in an oak tree outside of his window, which sat at the foot of his bed.
- Wolfman feared the wolves would eat him and woke up screaming. Freud attempted to interpret the dream in relation to Wolfman's past experiences and relationships, specifically focusing on Wolfman's father and sister, both of whom died by committing suicide.
- Freud stated the dream was a manifestation of the time Wolfman witnessed his parents having intercourse (the primal scene). The wolves represented Wolfman's father, and the fear they would eat him represented Wolfman's fear of castration.
- Many have criticised Freud's interpretations, including Wolfman himself, stating that the conclusions were preposterous and improbable.
References
- Freud, S. (1955). From the history of an infantile neurosis. In The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVII (1917-1919): An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works (pp. 1-124).
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