Mss141: Sleep and Dream

Reading Questions for Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams
Chapter 6

Note: this is a challenging chapter. You do not need to read all of the dream examples with great attention, but rather try to focus on the general concepts Freud is proposing and go back to the dream examples as needed to help you understand the concepts.

In particular, I will be interested to see what you make of these 3 terms he introduces:
1. condensation; 2. over-determination; 3. displacement. Can you come up with an example of each one, either from the reading or from your own experience?

 Chapter 6, part A
1. Shifting his terminology slightly, Freud now begins to talk about dream-thoughts and dream-content. To what do these terms correspond?

2. What does Freud mean by condensation? What are some examples of condensation in dreams?

3. What does he mean by "over-determined content" (p. 318 & 327)? How is the figure of Irma an over-determined element in the Injection dream? Where else does Freud detect the work of condensation when he revisits the Irma's Injection dream?

4. How are words treated in dreams? How does Freud handle neologisms in dream analysis?

5. What is the source of spoken sentences (as opposed to thoughts) in a dream according to Freud?

Chapter 6, part B
6. What is dream-displacement? What effect does dream-displacement have on the final form of the dream?