Sigmund Freud Interpretation Of Dreams Research Paper

Death of a Loved One

Sigmund Freud’s Theory The Interpretation of Dreams, came to be by his personal experience he had on an emotional level over the death of his father. In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud talks about “Dreams of the death of beloved persons” which I find interesting myself. Freud states that this is a typical dream to have and that there are two classes: one being where it does not affect the dreamer and the other where the dreamer “feels profoundly grieved by the death of the beloved person, even expressing this grief by shedding tears in his sleep.” (Freud)

I can personally attest to this fact and agree with Freud’s findings. When I was a little boy just shy of two years old, my Nannie passed away. I do not consciously remember this, but my Mom said I would wake up crying to which she assumed it had to do with the emotional loss of my Nannie. On my other occasion of experiencing a death was this past June when my Papa passed away. Papa was my Great Grandfather and I loved him very much.
I know how fortunate I am to of had my Papa in my life for as long as I did, but I still miss him deeply.
I believe that no one can relate to the concept of death fully until they experience a personal loss such as this magnitude, just as Freud had to experience the death of his father before writing his theory on dreams. It has been almost six months since my Papa passed away which is strange in the sense that I expect him to call me at any moment, though I obviously know he is no longer here. I sometimes dream about my Papa, which is a mixture of reality and
fantasy.

For example, I remember going with him to see the U.S. Battleship in Wilmington, N.C. and I dreamt that we were going there again, however in the dream while we are on the Battleship he has a heart attack and dies. I’m terrified because I don’t know what to do, in the movies there is always a doctor nearby to save the day, but in this case no one is around but my mom. I scream for her and she comes running, but it is too late, Papa is gone.

Freud states that “If anyone dreams that his father or mother…has died, and his dream expresses grief,…..it is satisfied with concluding that the dreamer has wished them dead at some time or other during his childhood.” (P49) I do not agree with this statement, for I knew for months leading up to my Papa’s passing that his health was fading and the doctors gave him less than six months. I dreamt he passed away before he actually did but that does not mean I have ever wanted him to die which is what I gather Freud is saying from the above quote.

Freud goes on to talk about siblings wishing their counterparts’ dead mostly out of jealousy. I do not know if this is true or not, I do know that I am two months shy of being 14 years old and I have a baby brother who will turn one year old in a few weeks. I admit I was surprised that my mom was going to have another baby and I thought when he was born he would be annoying, but I have never felt jealous of him or wish him dead. And now that Sebastian is here I don’t understand why siblings fight with one another like they do. My mom says it is because there is such a huge age difference between us that it voids out the fighting over toys and wants as things I want like the newest Alien ware laptop is not the same as his wants, which he is happy with slobbering on stuffed animals. Maybe she is right, but the point is I don’t agree with Freud on sibling jealousy though I notice at the end of the paragraph he is quick to say “ this attitude of the child towards the younger…is a mere function of the difference of age.” (Page50)

Freud states on page 56 “Parents play a leading part in the infantile psychology of all persons who subsequently become psychoneurotics. Falling in love with one parent and hating the other forms part of the permanent stock of the psychic impulses which arise in early childhood, and are of such importance as the material of the subsequent neurosis.” My parents divorced when I was one year old, and my mom and step dad met a year later. All of my childhood memories are of my mom and step dad so I am not sure what Freud means…is that strictly for biological parents? Or does it include step parents that actually raised the child? Does nurture v nature come into play? So I am not sure how to respond to this particular quote of Freud which is why I mention it. Overall Freud obviously has contributed greatly to society pioneering the way for others to follow. The only thing I find strange is how he constantly relates everything to a sexual nature and why he considered Cat holism so bad, is it because he was Jewish?