Sigmund Freud is known to be the founder of psychoanalysis. One of his most famous contributions is his Interpretation of Dreams. He claims that dreams represent our unfulfilled wishes and desires which are buried in our conscious and subconscious minds. He also emphasizes that the meaning of dreams is usually related to sexual acts and desires. This paper aims to analyze a dream according to Freud’s perspective. Dream Analysis There are different meanings that we can associate with our dreams. It can be symbolic or literal depending on the kind of dream that the person had.
Frequently, the type of personality that one possesses also affects the meanings of their dreams. Let’s identify first the important keywords in the material provided for us to be able to piece together the meaning of the dream in Freud’s perspective. You board a train even though you do not know its stops or final destination. According to Freud, trains can be of different meanings. It can symbolize the need to move on or to do things in an orderly manner. He also considered the train to be a phallic symbol related to a man’s penis and if that train goes into a tunnel, it symbolizes sexual intercourse.
In addition to that, he also considered any tunnel-like object to be of relation to the vagina and a tunnel present in a dream represents the “archetype of the feminine” (Freud). The meaning is now clear on the first part of the dream where the dreamer experiences going through a tunnel where his sexual desires manifest. However, the anxiety that the dreamer is feeling represents the part in a sexual intercourse where a man has not achieved orgasm yet. Moreover, it can also insinuate that the anxiety is caused by not reaching the climax of the intercourse.
Your anxiety is at its height. You still cannot find your seat. In this part of the dream, the dreamer still cannot find his/her seat means that he/she has not reached the climax of sex yet which was the main cause of his anxiety. You finally come out of the tunnel and into the light and most of your anxiety goes away. As he comes out of the tunnel and into the light, he/she reaches the orgasmic stage where most of his/her anxiety and frustrations have disappeared. This now proves Freud claim that dreams are somewhat manifesting as wish fulfillment.
The desires that we have—even if conscious or unconscious—are achieved in our head as we dream. As we go to the second part of the material, it can be noticed that it is quite a different setting. However, it is a continuation of the train dream. The dreamer is now looking for the dining car that he was able to find after a while of searching. Then the dreamer meets a person of the opposite whom he/she is attracted to. You do not feel worthy of his/her company so you turn around and walk away.
Perhaps, there is someone in this dreamer’s life that he/she is in love with but is holding back his/her affection for fear of rejection. However, the dreamer has already found a seat reserved for him/her. This states that the person he/she was attracted to also have mutual feelings towards the dreamer. On the table is a six-course meal of wonderful gourmet food. Food is symbolic of a large variety of things. It could symbolize pleasure and indulgence (Freud) Similarly, this part of the dream represents the pleasure of having his/her desires fulfilled.
The dreamer is already at ease for he/she knows that the beautiful person would be joining him/her which is probably an implication that they would be partners for life. No matter what the interpretation of Freud can be in this dream, it is safe to conclude that dreams can imply different meanings. However, Freud has indeed proven himself to be of great help in determining the hidden desires of human beings.
Works Cited
Sigmund Freud. Meaning of Dreams about Train: Dream Interpretation Dictionary. Global Oneness. http://www. experiencefestival. com/dream_interpretation