Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory IJoDR

Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory

Ralf Binswanger1 and Lutz Wittmann2
1
Psychoanalytisches Seminar Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
2
International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany

Summary. This article aims at facilitating the understanding of Freud´s dream theory for psychoanalytic as well as non-
psychoanalytic clinicians and scientists. The new perspective is based on a section of An Outline of Psychoanalysis
(Freud, 1938) which, to date, does not appear to have been considered adequately. This section comprises a dense
summary of Freud´s dream theory applying the structural viewpoint (ego, id and super-ego). It is suggested that this sec-
tion be considered as akin to a set of explanatory notes for the reading of The Interpretation of Dreams (Freud, 1900),
which is illustrated herein by applying it to several paragraphs of this work. In doing so, it becomes apparent that The
Interpretation of Dreams does not need to be re-written in order to integrate the structural viewpoint. Rather, both the
topographical (conscious, preconscious and unconscious) and the structural viewpoint can be elegantly merged. Finally,
the introduced perspective is compared to previous psychoanalytic contributions, implications for clinical application are
discussed, and relevant empirical research findings are summarized.

Keywords: Dream, psychoanalytic dream theory, Freud, sleep protection function

1. Introduction mind”. But the dreamer has to help him by producing free
associations to each element of the manifest dream.
This paper aims at facilitating the understanding and han- Such a hypothetical summary may reflect Freud´s strug-
dling of Freud’s dream theory and can thus be classified gling with the challenges of his new approach. The first
as a contribution of psychoanalytic conceptual research. difficulty relates to the definition of the term wish and the
The following hypothetical summary reflects how Freud’s statement that every dream should be a wish-fulfilment. It
book The Interpretation of Dreams (Freud, 1900), which rep- remains unclear if wishes are considered to be expressions
resents an early stage of his theoretical developments, is of drives or defenses against drives (c.f. Spanjaard, 1969,
frequently understood: The mental life of human beings is p. 228). Applied on dream work, this differentiation refers to
not only a matter of consciousness, but to an even greater wishes as the cause initiating dream work as compared to
degree, a matter of the unconscious. The unconscious is a wish-fulfilment as the result of dream-work, allowing sleep
container of many crude wishes and fantasies incompatible protection. Thus, a confusing double use of the term wish
with the ideals and morals of a well socialized adult: a hoard has to be acknowledged. Or even a triple use, considering
of lustfulness and aggression, including incestuous wishes Freud´s assumption that the dream guards the wish of the
towards mother and death-wishes against the rival father. ego to continue to sleep. This central issue will be the focus
While awake, consciousness controls these “ghosts”. Dur- of the following section (2.).
ing sleep, this control is weakened, but sleep also blocks The second difficulty relates to the concept of sleeping
the access to the motor system so that the sleeper will not consciousness and to the question of how it can maintain
go and murder his father. There is still the danger, however, certain functions (e.g., controlling the emergence of unde-
that those wishes may become conscious, which will not sirable repressed fantasies). This problem goes back to the
be a pleasant experience. For this reason, the wishes have early stage of Freud´s theory when he published The Inter-
to be subjected to censorship which uses mechanisms pretation of Dreams. Freud developed his dream concept
called displacement, condensation, considerations of rep- under the framework of the topographic viewpoint, i.e., in
resentability and symbolization. This process is called the terms of consciousness, pre-consciousness, and un-con-
dream-work, by which a latent dream-thought and a mani- sciousness. Many authors assume that he never applied
fest dream content are formed. The former contains a modi- his structural viewpoint (introducing the agencies id, ego,
fied fulfilment of such wishes, hidden behind the manifest and super-ego) onto the topic of dreaming (e.g., Arlow &
content. So, the dream is a wish-fulfilment. If the analyst Brenner, 1976). Arlow and Brenner (1964) are generally con-
succeeds in going back this way, unraveling the dangerous sidered to be the first and most important authors applying
unconscious wishes, he successfully uses what Freud in the Freud’s structural theory to his dream theory. They proposed
second edition appearing in 1909 (p. 608) called the ”royal to replace the topographic viewpoint prevailing in The Inter-
road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the pretation of Dreams by the structural one. In consequence,
the crucial distinction between (pre-) conscious and un-
Corresponding address: conscious mental phenomena, and therefore between the
Dr. med. Ralf Binswanger, Freie Strasse 90, CH 8032 Zurich, manifest and the latent dream gets lost.
Switzerland Many authors did not take into consideration, however,
Email: [email protected] that Freud had already summarized his dream-theory under
the structural viewpoint on seven pages in the fifth chapter
Submitted for publication: Februar 2019 of his An Outline of psychoanalysis (Freud, 1938). In this pa-
Accepted for publication: April 2019 per, we follow Binswanger´s (2008) suggestion to focus on

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IJoDR Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory

the 5th chapter of the Outline of Psychoanalysis and explore From the perspective of the second topic, it doesn’t seem
the hypothesis that it could be used as a sort of explanatory adequate to label “a current of this kind”, a drive impulse
notes for re-reading Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. We and its psychic representation, a “wish”. Hence, we propose
seek to illustrate that, by doing so, the confusion around the to consider Freud’s theory of “wish-fulfillment” as regarding
term “wish” can be resolved. Furthermore, we intend to dem- the result of dream work rather than its origin.
onstrate that a re-reading of The Interpretation of Dreams is Whenever the term “wish” refers to the origin of dream
possible without replacing the topographic viewpoint by the work, i.e. a sleep-disturbing drive impulse originating in the
structural one as suggested by Arlow and Brenner (1964), id, it should be replaced by the phrase “a demand [of the id,
but by elaborating how the two viewpoints intertwine. addition by the authors] upon the ego for the satisfaction of
a drive” (Freud, 1938 p. 169), which can be shortened to a
2. “Wish” and “wish-fulfilment” demand of the id. In the following sections, we show in more
detail how this terminology might be implemented with a re-
Obviously, Freud used the term wish with a double meaning: reading of The Interpretation of Dreams.
The first represents “a demand of the id for the satisfaction When the term ”wish“ refers to the result of dream work,
of a drive” (Freud, 1938 p. 169). The second is represented it coincides with its fulfilment, a performance of the uncon-
in the form of wish-fulfilment in order to protect sleep. A scious ego aiming to protect sleep. The sleep-protecting
third aspect, the wish of the ego to continue to sleep, is function of dreams will be central in our arguments, and
less confusing and will therefore not be emphasized here. wish-fulfilment – or the attempt at wish-fulfilment – is con-
In the first meaning, the wish stands at the beginning; in sidered to be the means by which one accomplishes sleep
the second, at the end of dream work. The first meaning is protection.
associated with the sleep-disturbing impulses; the second,
with the latent dream thoughts protecting sleep. The original
3. Analyzing An Outline of Psychoanalysis
aim of Freud’s double use was ostensibly to give evidence
for the idea that dreams are formed in an analogous way to Freud repeatedly turned his attention to the question of the
neurotic symptoms: as a compromise between a drive im- initiation of the dream work. In his Remarks on The Theory
pulse and a defense against it. However, this double use of and Practice of Dream-Interpretation, Freud (1923 p. 111)
the same term complicates the understanding of the whole introduced the following distinction of two different dream
dream theory, giving rise to much confusion. types:
We propose to distinguish different approaches to the
“It is possible to distinguish between dreams from above
term “wish” when using it under the viewpoint of the first
and dreams from below, provided the distinction is not
Freudian topic, as in The Interpretation of Dreams, in con-
made too sharply. [...] This distinction calls for no modifi-
trast to the second one, as used by Freud in An Outline of
cation in the theory of dreams.”
Psychoanalysis.
In the first, we may start at one of Freud’s definitions: This distinction is further elaborated in the Outline:
“[...] that the accumulation of excitation [...] is felt as un- “It is best to begin by pointing out that the formation of
pleasure and that it sets the apparatus in action with a a dream can be provoked in two different ways. Either
view to repeating the experience of satisfaction, which a drive-impulse [we replace “instinct” by “drive” as the
involved a diminution of excitation and was felt as plea- translation of Trieb without further notice] which is or-
sure. A current of this kind in the apparatus, starting from dinarily suppressed (that is, an unconscious wish) finds
unpleasure and aiming at pleasure, we have termed a enough strength during sleep to make itself felt by the
‘wish’; and we have asserted that only a wish is able to ego, or an urge left over from waking life [...] finds re-
set the apparatus in motion and that the course of the inforcement during sleep from an unconscious element.
excitation in it is automatically regulated by feelings of In short, dreams may arise either from the id or from the
pleasure and unpleasure” (Freud, 1900 p.598). ego” (Freud, 1938 p. 166). Regarding Freud´s equation of
drive-impulses and unconscious wishes we agree with
This is a very sophisticated, quasi operational definition. For
Laplanche and Pontalis (1973, p. 482) in that “It is no-
practical reasons, a wish may be defined to be the psychic
table, however, that Freud does not always use the word
representation of one or more drive impulses. The repre-
‘wish’ in as strict a sense as that laid down in the defini-
sentation may be conscious, preconscious or unconscious.
tion quoted above.”
Hence, there are conscious, preconscious and unconscious
wishes and fantasies as well. If the wish is met by defenses, Without ceremony, Freud applies the structural viewpoint to
there is a conflict. In dreams and in neurotic symptoms, the dream theory. Evidently, he attributes “dreams from above”
conflict may result in a compromise. In dreams, the compro- to the ego and “dreams from below” to the id. He does so
mise leads to wish fulfillment that allows the continuation of without giving up the notion of the unconscious: In dreams
sleep; in neurosis, it leads to the formation of symptoms that from above, the “urge left over from waking life [...] finds
allow, under the given external and internal circumstances, reinforcement during sleep from an unconscious element”.
the best possible adaption in everyday life. Hence, Freud’s statements illustrate how the topographical
In the second topic, where drive impulses are concep- point of view (conscious, preconscious and unconscious)
tualized as originating in the id and being shaped by the intertwines with the structural viewpoint (ego, id and super-
unconscious ego right from the beginning, a “wish” is rather ego).
the result of what the ego has done with an original drive
“Thus the dream work is essentially an instance of the
impulse, than the psychic representation of such an impulse
unconscious working-over of preconscious thought-pro-
originating in the id (Morgenthaler, 2004). Hence, we con-
cesses” (Freud, 1938, p. 167).
sider a wish to belong to the ego rather than to the id.

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 Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory IJoDR

This is a very condensed statement that we try to expli- conscious residues of the previous day to dreams? There
cate as follows: Evidently, unconscious mental material is no doubt that they find their way into dreams in great
can only disturb sleep when it is transformed into precon- quantity, and that they make use of the content of dreams in
scious thought processes. At that moment, the dream work, order to penetrate into consciousness even during the night.
performed by the unconscious parts of the ego, begins to Indeed they occasionally dominate the content of a dream
work-over these preconscious thought processes, creating and force it to carry on the activity of daytime” (Freud, 1900,
the dream. p. 555). “It must be that they are essential ingredients in
Freud’s statements are further clarified by the following, the formation of dreams, since experience has revealed the
crucial sentences: surprising fact that in the content of every dream some link
with a recent daytime impression — often of the most insig-
“With the help of the unconscious, every dream that is
nificant sort — is to be detected” (ibid., p. 562).
in process of formation makes a demand upon the ego
“The sleeping ego, however, is focused on the wish to
— for the satisfaction of a drive, if the dream originates
maintain sleep; it feels this demand as a disturbance and
from the id; for the solution of a conflict, the removal of
seeks to get rid of the disturbance”: At this point, the term
a doubt or the forming of an intention, if the dream origi-
“wish” is clearly attributed to the ego and not to a drive-
nates from a residue of preconscious activity in waking
impulse of the id. This “wish” to continue to sleep is the mo-
life. The sleeping ego, however, is focused on the wish to
tive for dream work done by the unconscious ego. It refers
maintain sleep; it feels this demand as a disturbance and
to the function of dreams as guardians of sleep. One can
seeks to get rid of the disturbance. The ego succeeds in
say that this is the only meaning in which the term wish can
doing this by what appears to be an act of compliance:
stand for itself (as opposed to “demand of the id” or “fulfill-
it meets the demand with what is in the circumstances
ment of a wish”).
a harmless fulfillment of a wish and so gets rid of it. This
“The ego [...] meets the demand with what is in the cir-
replacement of the demand by the fulfillment of a wish
cumstances a harmless fulfillment of a wish and so gets rid
remains the essential function of the dream work” (Freud,
of it”: The harmless fulfillment of a wish is the means by
1938, p. 169-170).
which the unconscious ego performs the function of sleep-
We comment on this crucial text-passage in detail: “With protection of any dream, regardless of whether it is “from
the help of the unconscious”: The unconscious id or the un- above” or “from below”. We use the term “harmless” in this
conscious ego helped to form the preconscious “demands context as “harmless enough to allow the continuation of
upon the ego” described below; “every dream that is in pro- sleep”.
cess of formation”: We explicate the word “dream” in this “This replacement of the demand by the fulfillment of a
context into ”hallucinatory experience during sleep with the wish remains the essential function of the dream work”:
potential to be remembered”; “makes a demand upon the (emphasis by the authors). The sleep-disturbing stimulus is
ego” This demand acts as an internal mental stimulus with replaced by the harmless, ego-compatible fulfillment of a
the potential to disturb sleep; in this context, we restrict our wish – at least harmless enough to be compatible with the
reasoning to dreams resulting from internal, mental sleep- continuation of sleep. The theory of wish-fulfillment does
disturbing stimuli as opposed to physical stimuli presented not focus on the fact that unconscious “wishes” = represen-
during sleep; “[a demand] for the satisfaction of a drive, if tations of drive-impulses, may disturb sleep, but on the fact
the dream originates from the id”: Dreams from below. The that dream work uses wish-fulfillment in order to get rid of
confusing term “an unconscious wish” does not appear sleep-disturbances.
anymore in this explanation of his theory by Freud; “[a de- But what is the reason that Freud uses the term replace-
mand] for the solution of a conflict, the removal of a doubt ment, instead of saying “the transformation of the demand
or the forming of an intention [realization of a resolution], if into the fulfillment of a wish” – e.g. by compromise forma-
the dream originates from a residue of preconscious activity tion? A quote from the Introductory Lectures on Psycho-
in waking life”: Dreams from above. Freud mentions three analysis (Freud, 1915-16, Lecture IX, p. 136, emphasis in
kinds of demands resulting from a residue of preconscious original) may give a first clue:
activity in waking life. The third one, “the forming of an in-
“Dreams are things which get rid of (psychical) stimuli
tention” doesn’t make sense. Translating “Herstellung eines
disturbing to sleep, by the method of hallucinatory sat-
Vorsatzes” into “the realization of a not yet accomplished
isfaction”.
resolution” might be the better choice, as Freud probably
means the putting into practice of a resolution. Resolutions Maybe, if the purpose is getting rid of sleep-disturbing stim-
made on New Year’s Eve are more than simple intentions, uli, they really need to be replaced.
and the problem is not their forming but their keeping. These crucial quotations of the Outline and their interpre-
When Freud writes “a residue of preconscious activ- tation may serve as a sort of grid of parallels and meridians
ity in waking life”, does he mean “day’s residues”? As al- for the lecture of The Interpretation of Dreams. To give an
ready obvious from his use of the term wish, Freud often example of what is meant, we reformulate the hypothetical
uses the same words either as everyday language or as a summary of Freud´s dream theory given in the introduction
technical term. “Residues of preconscious activity in waking (p. 3, terminological modifications in italics): During sleep,
life” seems rather a use of everyday language. It describes ego-control is weakened and access of impulses to the voli-
specific items of possible sleep-disturbing stimuli, whereas tional motor brain zones is inhibited. Such impulses consist
the technical term “day’s residues” is generally attributed to of demands upon the ego which can be delineated into two
contents appearing explicitly in the manifest dream, i.e. as a types. The first is a demand for the satisfaction of a drive
result and not a cause of dream work. We propose to adopt from the id that becomes preconscious. The second is a
this difference which is in line with the following quotations demand for the solution of a conflict, the removal of a doubt
of Freud (italics added): “But what is the relation of the pre- or the realization of a resolution, i.e. preconscious concerns

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IJoDR Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory

of the ego that are reinforced by an unconscious element. 4. Examples in reading the Interpretation of
These demands are the mental sleep-disturbing stimuli that Dreams in the reconsidered way
would awake the sleeper if they passed unprocessed to the
conscious ego. Hence, the dream work done by the uncon- Let’s take a few selected sentences from section C of Chap-
scious ego censors them with its main defense mechanisms: ter VII of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams as examples.
displacement, condensation, reversal to the contrary (we In quoting them, we leave out some words [in brackets],
add this mechanism as Freud (1900, p. 381,327-328, 408, replacing them in bold italics according to the terminology
434, 440, 471-481) frequently mentions it when illustrating of An Outline of Psychoanalysis, as we interpreted it:
dream work), and symbolization, considering the represent- “It will no doubt have surprised all of us to be told that
ability of mental material within the mostly visual character dreams [are] work with nothing other than fulfilments of
of the dream. This work operates with what Freud called wishes [...]. Since, then, our daytime thinking produces
the primary process. The result of this work is the latent psychical acts of such various sorts — judgements, in-
dream-thought that replaces the sleep-disturbing stimulus ferences, denials, expectations, intentions, and so on —
by the harmless fulfillment of a wish. For the unconscious why should it be obliged during the night to restrict itself
ego that functions and understands according to the pri- to the production of [wishes] wish fulfilments alone? Are
mary process, the task is done: It got rid of the demands there not, on the contrary, numerous dreams which show
upon it that would be incompatible with the continuation of us psychical acts of other kinds — worries, for instance
sleep. Conversely, for the conscious ego, which is operat- — transformed into dream-shape?” (p. 550).
ing according to the secondary process and the principle of
reality, the result of the primary process is still not compat- “We may next ask where the [wishes] demands upon the
ible with the continuation of sleep. It may be too absurd, ego for the satisfaction of a drive / representations of
puzzling or frightening, or it still might reveal aspects of the drive impulses (we’ll use both formulas synonymously in
sleep-disturbing stimulus. Hence, the latent dream thought these examples) that [come true] are replaced by wish-
has to be transformed into a more elaborated plot that befits fulfilment in dreams originate. [...] I can distinguish three
the secondary process. Freud calls this operation second- possible origins for such a [wish] demand upon the ego
ary revision that finally forms the manifest dream content. for the satisfaction of a drive. (1) It may have been
The better and smoother the manifest dream is formed, aroused during the day and for external reasons may not
the better dream censorship and secondary revision have have been satisfied; in that case an acknowledged [wish]
worked, the better the dream fulfills its function as a guard- demand upon the ego for a satisfaction of a drive which
ian of sleep. has not been dealt with is left over for the night. (2) It may
Such a reading makes it possible that the stones in the have arisen during the day but been repudiated; in that
edifice of The Interpretation of Dreams remain on top of one case what is left over is a [wish] demand upon the ego
another (the metaphor of the “stones in the edifice” goes for a satisfaction of a drive which has not been dealt
back to Ilse Grubrich-Simitis (2000, p. 1173). She writes with but has been suppressed. (3) It may have no con-
with respect to Freud’s 1925 revision of The Interpretation of nection with daytime life and be one of those [wishes] de-
Dreams: “For if he had actually attempted systematically to mands upon the ego for a satisfaction of a drive which
incorporate […] the structural theory conceived in The Ego only emerge from the suppressed part of the mind and
and the Id (1923a), hardly one stone could have remained become active in us at night. If we turn again to our sche-
on another in the edifice of the book”). It allows the use of matic picture of the psychical apparatus, we shall localize
chapter five of the Outline as explanatory notes on how to [wishes] demands of the first kind in the system Pcs.;
resolve some of the ambiguities of Freud’s original theory. we shall suppose that [wishes] demands of the second
Clearly, it is not necessary to re-invent The Interpretation of kind have been driven out of the system Pcs. into the
Dreams in order to integrate the structural viewpoint. The Ucs., where, if at all, they continue to exist; and we shall
later topic can easily be combined with the earlier one. Fig- conclude that [wishful impulses] the representations of
ure 1 illustrates the re-formulated understanding of Freud´s drive impulses of the third kind are altogether incapable
theory on dreams instigated by internal mental stimuli. of passing beyond the system Ucs.” (p. 551).
A final comment refers to our decision to allocate the This distinction of the origin of demands upon the ego for
process of secondary revision within the preconscious ego the satisfaction of a drive doesn’t appear in the Outline, but
(see Laplanche and Pontalis (1973, p. 412) for definitions it can easily be integrated in the proposed re-formulation of
most helpful in this context). Freud (1900, p.489, emphasis Freud´s dream theory, including the following fourth source.
by the authors) characterized the secondary revision as fol-
lows: “This instance, however, provides us with convincing “If we cast our minds over the dreams that are at our
evidence that not everything contained in a dream is derived disposal for answering this question, we shall at once be
from the dream-thoughts, but that contributions to its con- reminded that we must add a fourth source of dream-
tent may be made by a psychical function which is indistin- [wishes]demands upon the ego, namely the current
guishable from our waking thoughts.” It appears to fit with [wishful] representations of drive impulses that arise
the comprehensive realm of Freud’s theory to attribute this during the night (e.g. those stimulated by thirst or sexual
work to the preconscious ego. It has access to all the pre- needs). In the next place, we shall form the opinion that
conscious mental material able to set the stage and deliver the place of origin of a dream-[wish]demand for the sat-
the costumes for the manifest dream theatre. isfaction of a drive probably has no influence on its ca-
pacity for instigating dreams” (p. 552).
“My supposition is that a conscious [wish] representa-
tion of a drive impulse can only become a dream-insti-
gator if it succeeds in awakening an unconscious [wish]

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 Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory IJoDR

Instigation of „Dreams from above“:

Sleep disturbing stimuli: Pre-
conscious concerns of the ego, e.g.
 Solution of a conflict
 Removal of a doubt
 Realization of a resolution
find reinforcement during sleep from
an unconscious element Ego: wish to continue sleep

Ucs Pcs Cs
Dream work (displacement, Secondary Manifest dream
condensation, reversal to revision content
the contrary, consideration
Preconscious thought Demand upon the ego of representability, symboli-
processes zation)
-> latent dream content
replacing demand upon ego
by harmless whish ful-
fillment

Instigation of „Dreams from

below“: Sleep disturbing stimuli: Primary Secondary
Drive impulses from the id process process
 Pcs: Ackowledged (arose during
day, but not satisfied)
 PCS->Ucs: Suppressed (arose
during the day, but supressed)
 Ucs: independent of daytime
life
 Pcs: Current representation of
drive impulses (e.g., thirst)

Figure 1. Re-formulated dream theory according to Freud (1900). Pcs: preconscious; Ucs: unconscious; Cs: conscious

representation of a drive impulse with the same tenor mental processes in the system that we have named the
and in obtaining reinforcement from it. From indications preconscious” (p. 554).
derived from the psycho-analysis of the neuroses, I con-
We hope that the quoted examples from The Interpreta-
sider that these unconscious [wishes] representations
tion of Dreams are able to support our hypothesis that an
of drive impulses are always on the alert, ready at any
integration of Freud’s structural theory, developed later in
time to find their way to expression when an opportu-
his life, into his earlier dream theory is possible, resulting in
nity arises for allying themselves with an impulse from
more clarity without losing its richness.
the conscious and for transferring their own great inten-
Finally, we quote – in the same way as the former quo-
sity on to the latter’s lesser one. It will then appear as
tations – Freud’s own summary of The Interpretation of
though the conscious [wish] representation of a drive
Dreams given in An Evidential Dream (1913).
impulse alone had been realized in the dream; only some
small peculiarity in the dream’s configuration will serve as “Let me recapitulate here as briefly as possible what I
a finger-post to put us on the track of the powerful ally have said on this question in my Interpretation of Dreams.
from the unconscious. These [wishes] representations [The so-called ‘day’s residues’] Residues of precon-
of drive impulses in our unconscious, ever on the alert scious activity in waking life can act as disturbers of
and, so to say, immortal, remind one of the legendary Ti- sleep and constructors of dreams; they are affectively
tans, weighed down since primeval ages by the massive cathected thought-processes from the dream-day, which
bulk of the mountains which were once hurled upon them have resisted the general lowering [of energy (the words
by the victorious gods and which are still shaken from „of energy“ have been introduced by the translators and
time to time by the convulsion of their limbs. But these have no direct correspondence in the German original)]
[wishes] representations of drive impulses, held under through sleep. These [day’s residues] residues of pre-
repression, are themselves of infantile origin, as we are conscious activity in waking life are uncovered by trac-
taught by psychological research into the neuroses [...]” ing back the manifest dream to the latent dream-thoughts;
(p. 553). they constitute portions of the latter and are thus among
the activities of waking life — whether conscious or un-
“I shall follow the same line of thought in now turning
conscious — which have been able to persist into the
to consider those psychical instigations to dreaming,
period of sleep. In accordance with the multiplicity of
left over from waking life, which are other than [wishes]
thought-processes in the conscious and preconscious,
representations of drive impulses. When we decide to
these [day’s residues] residues of preconscious activity
go to sleep, we may succeed in temporarily bringing to
in waking life have the most numerous and varied mean-
an end the cathexes of energy attaching to our waking
ings: they may be wishes or fears that have not been dis-
thoughts. […] But we do not always succeed in doing so,
posed of, or intentions, reflections, warnings, attempts
nor do we always succeed completely. Unsolved prob-
at adaptation to current tasks, and so on. To this extent
lems, tormenting worries, overwhelming impressions —
the classification of dreams that is under consideration
all these carry thought-activity over into sleep and sustain
seems to be justified by the content which is uncovered

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IJoDR Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory

by interpretation. These [day’s residues] residues of pre- ‘dreams may arise either from the id or from the ego’ [...]”.
conscious activity in waking life, however, are not the Later on, he integrally cited Freud’s (1938, p. 166) quote
dream itself: they lack the main essential of a dream. Of analyzed herein (c.f. 3.) and comments:
themselves they are not able to construct a dream. […]
“Of course, this is in agreement with the examples from
The present state of our knowledge leads us to conclude
‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, such as the Irma dream,
that the essential factor in the construction of dreams
the well-known dreams of convenience, and the dreams
is an unconscious [wish] element — as a rule an infan-
instigated by bodily needs, in which the infantile wish is
tile [wish] representation of a drive impulse, now re-
no longer so readily apparent. [...] Even if one continues
pressed — which can come to expression in this somatic
to use the attempt at wish-fulfilment as one’s point of de-
or psychical material (in the [day’s residues] residues of
parture, one cannot escape the difficulty of deciding what
preconscious activity in waking life too, therefore) and
should be interpreted as wish-fulfilment, and what as a
can thus supply these with a force which enables them
defence” (p. 227-228).
to press their way through to consciousness even during
the suspension of thought at night. The [dream] result of Obviously, this difficulty in conceptualizing the wish-fulfill-
dream work is in every case a harmless fulfilment of this ment as a result of defence processes (dream work) protect-
unconscious [wish] representation of a drive impulse, ing the sleeping ego from demands resulting from internal
whatever else it may contain — warning, reflection, ad- or external sleep-disturbing stimuli roots in the misleading
mission, or any other part of the rich content of precon- double use of the term wish referring to beginning and end
scious waking life that has persisted undealt-with into the of dream generation.
night. It is this unconscious [wish] element that gives the Our summary of the role of day’s residues (section 3.) is in
dream-work its peculiar character as an unconscious re- line with the interpretation of the Outline by Langs (1971, p.
vision of preconscious material.” (p. 273-274). 504):
This recapitulation by Freud contains some challenges to “In An Outline of Psychoanalysis, Freud (1940) offered his
our reading. First, he uses the term “day’s residue” for what final comments on the sources of dreams, couched this
we call, according to the Outline, “residues of preconscious time in structural terms. […] To summarize briefly, Freud
activity in waking life” – reserving the term “day’s residue” thought that every dream is prompted by one or more
to contents appearing explicitly in the manifest dream. Sec- experiences of the dream day. These events are related
ond, Freud seems to combine characteristics of what he to intrapsychic life and dreams in two major ways: first,
later calls dreams “from above” with dreams “from below”. a repressed, infantile, unconscious fantasy or instinctual
In fact, Freud’s recapitulation shows exactly why the struc- drive from the id seeks out external experiences as vehi-
tural theory clarifies dream theory, especially by avoiding cles through which it may gain disguised gratification in a
the double use of the term “wish”. The structural theory al- dream; and second, a reality experience may, through the
lows us to read Freud’s recapitulation as if he intended to ego, stir up unconscious, infantile fantasies which then
explain dreams “from above”. In those, the “residues of pre- seek discharge expression in the dream. Usually, both
conscious activity in waking life” need “reinforcement from processes work together”.
an unconscious element”. This element may be what we call
Levine (1998, p. 38-39), in his analysis of Erikson’s famous
not a wish but a representation of a drive impulse; but it
paper entitled “The Dream Specimen of Psychoanalysis”,
might also have other sources as a repressed memory of a
quoted Freud’s an Outline of Psychoanalysis:
traumatic experience.
“And even Freud (1940), who said: ‘Every dream that is
5. Comparison with selected examples of litera- in process of formation makes a demand upon the ego -
ture for the satisfaction of an instinct, if the dream originates
from the id; for the solution of a conflict, the removal
The application – in An Outline of Psychoanalysis – of the of a doubt or the forming of an intention if the dream
theory of the agencies on dream theory by Freud himself originates from residue of preconscious activity in
was often overlooked, e.g. by Erikson (1954), Arlow and waking life’ (pp. 169-170, bold italics added)”.
Brenner (1964) or Morgenthaler (2004). As far as we are
aware, only Beland (1991, p. 630) points to the fact that The aim of this quotation remains unclear to some degree.
there is „a temporary use of the structural theory in ex- Should it underline that even Freud, at the end of his life,
plaining dreams“, and Langs (1971, p. 166) notices that made the same shift as Erikson:
Freud´s “final comments on the sources of dreams […]” “Whereas for Freud, the work of the dream was to dis-
were “[…] couched […] in structural terms”. Turnbull and guise the wish and create an hallucination that represent-
Solms (2007), Grubrich-Simitis (2000) and Johnson (2001) ed its symbolic fulfillment, for Erikson that was only a part
also mention the Outline, however, none of these authors of the dreamwork. For him, the dream was also an adap-
mentions Freud´s first-time introduction of the structural tive response to an acute, even if attenuated, conflict or
viewpoint into his original dream theory. Further references life crisis” (Levine, 1998, p. 38)?
to the Outline are made by Spanjaard (1969), Levine (1998),
and Blechner (2001). Again, it becomes obvious how confusion between the terms
Spanjaard (1969, p. 223) noted: „The structural theory wish, wish-fulfillment and sleep-disturbing stimuli hinders a
had little effect on Freud’s view regarding dreams. In 1923 clear understanding of Freud´s statements. Or does it sug-
(1923b) we first see a distinction being made between gest – as the next author does – that Freud abandoned his
‘dreams from above and dreams from below’ (p. 111), and statement that dreams always work with a wish-fulfilment or
not until ‘An Outline of Psychoanalysis’ does he state that an attempt at a wish-fulfilment?

108 International Journal of Dream Research Volume 12, No. 1 (2019)

 Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory IJoDR

Such a (mis-)understanding is supported by Blechner In the following, we will illustrate the clinical application of
(2001, p. 16) who made a big case against Freud’s theory of our understanding of Freud´s dream theory in traumatized
wish fulfilment: patients who characteristically suffer from replicative and
repetitive dreams that fail in sleep protection (Wittmann &
“Even Freud questioned whether all dreams are the prod-
de Dassel, 2015). Here, dreams may be instigated by up-
uct of wish fulfilment. Already in the Dora Case (1905) he
coming memories of traumatic situations.:
wrote that the meaning of a dream could be ‘of as many
different sorts as the process of waking thought. … In “The dreamer observes her mother laying on the exam
one case it would be a fulfilled wish; in another a realized table in the office of her father, a medical doctor. He is
fear; or again a reflection persisting into sleep; or an in- standing on the mother’s right side and his female aide
tention; or a piece of creative thought’ (p. 68). [...]” is at the foot of the table. The dreamer knows that her
mother is dying. Father says: “Keep quiet—we’ll do this,
However, Blechner evidently had overlooked that he quoted
it’s all right.” The mother dies. The dreamer is startled
sentences by which Freud gave an example on how his the-
and screams. The father leaves the room with his aide.
ory “would have been more certain of general acceptance”
The dreamer continues screaming until she awakens.
rather than changing it (Freud, 1905, p. 68).
Binswanger (2016, p.742)”
A little later, Blechner (2001, p. 16) goes on:
The crucial clue to the understanding of the dream was pro-
“Finally, in the Outline of Psychoanalysis, written near the
vided by the direct speech contained in the manifest dream.
end of his life (Freud 1940), Freud proposed two kind of
Freud (1900, p. 183-184) assumed that “When anything in
dreams”. Blechner cites the known quote from “With the
a dream has the character of direct speech, that is to say,
help of the unconscious” until “residue of preconscious
when it is said or heard and not merely thought (…), then it
activity in waking life” [italics in original]. He follows:
is derived from something actually spoken in waking life”. In
“Here, Freud is suggesting that only some dreams aim at
this case, the father saying “Keep quiet—we’ll do this, it’s
the satisfaction of an instinct [...]”,
all right.” turned out to be the words of a clergyman who
but he appears to neglect that all dreams – at least try had repeatedly abused the dreamer in early adolescence.
to – replace a sleep-disturbing stimulus by the harmless ful- Our perspective on posttraumatic dreams is in line with the
fillment of a wish. theory of Lansky (Lansky, 1991 ; Lansky & Bley, 1995). He
These citations illustrate the importance of a clear defini- assumes that so-called posttraumatic dreams are instigated
tion and allocation of the terms and processes of wish and by the experience of shame related to interpersonal con-
wish fulfillment. The common denominator of the last four flicts or symptoms displayed during the day preceding the
authors citing from An Outline of Psychoanalysis lies in their dream. Dream work then applies wish fulfillment by repeat-
tendency to demonstrate that Freud didn’t consequently ing a traumatic event in the sense of a screen memory al-
stick on (at least the attempt at) wish fulfillment as the aim lowing for the conclusion that the tension within the psychic
of dream work. This frequent misunderstanding results from apparatus is related to something old and known rather
the fact that authors tended to see the wish and its fulfill- than to a current conflict. The clinical focus thus shifts to-
ment at the origin of dream work rather than as its result. wards the identification of the sleep-disturbing stimulus – a
current experience of shame – allowing for making sense of
6. Clinical application repetitions rather than assuming them to be without mean-
ing (Gardner & Orner, 2009).
The main clinical value of a theory shaped in the described
manner consists of a shift of the central interpretative ques-
7. Empirical research
tion from “which dangerous unconscious wish is (partly)
fulfilled by the dream?” to “which sleep-disturbing stimu- Freud´s assumption of a sleep protection function of dreams
lus forced the sleeper to produce a remembered dream?” receives empirical support from studies by Solms (1997) and
This widens the perspective of dream-interpretation with- Ermann et al. (Ermann, 1995; Ermann, Peichl, & Phol, 1994;
out revising Freud’s theory of the wish-fulfilling function of Ermann, Peichl, Pohl, Schneider, & Winkelmann, 1993).
dreams. Wishes, conceived as “demands upon the ego for Solms (1997, p. 165) found that patients with brain lesions
the satisfaction of a drive” can be considered as one pos- who reported not having dream recall any more, suffered
sible dream instigator between others, e.g. preconscious from significantly elevated sleep interruptions as compared
concerns or conflicts that remained poorly recognized and to patients with maintained dream recall. There is, however,
unresolved during waking life. Binswanger (2016, p. 754- an ongoing debate if reports of complete dream cessation
755) proposed a further expansion of possible sleep-dis- by individuals with brain lesions indicate true absence of
turbing stimuli: “Think, for example, of everything that may dreaming or rather dream recall failure (for opposing posi-
prevent a child from sleeping. Not only are there anxieties, tions in this debate compare Hobson (2001) and Yu (2007)).
deception, anger, mourning, crude drive-impulses and so Ermann et al. (Ermann, 1995; Ermann et al., 1994; Ermann
forth – stimuli that we are used to recognizing as possible et al., 1993) compared dream recall frequencies of 26 pa-
causes of sleep-disturbance. There are others as well, such tients suffering from psychogenic insomnia and 15 healthy
as pleasant anticipation – e.g., of the child’s birthday, a controls. They considered recall rates from spontaneous as
school outing or a beloved person’s visit. We are less used well as experimental awakenings from rapid eye movement
to recognizing these kinds of emotions as causing the for- (REM) and non rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Elevated
mation of a dream in an adult analysand. […] Dream work spontaneous awakenings confirmed the diagnosis of insom-
takes place to prevent awakening by such strong positive nia in patients. Patients´ dream reports from spontaneous
feelings as well […]”. REM awakenings were reported to be shorter, less visual,
and more similar to NREM dreams. The central finding of

International Journal of Dream Research Volume 12, No. 1 (2019) 109

IJoDR Reconsidering Freud’s dream theory

this study was a significantly reduced dream recall rate after 9. Freud’s expression “a residue of preconscious activity
spontaneous awakenings from REM sleep in patients with in waking life” designating a part of a sleep-disturbing
insomnia as compared to controls. This difference was ab- stimulus causes confusions with his term “day’s resi-
sent after experimental awakenings from REM sleep. Thus, due”. We suggest using the latter one only when refer-
under intra-psychic conditions which would not have re- ring to contents appearing explicitly in the manifest
sulted in spontaneous awakening, a remembered dream is dream.
produced equally frequently (around 90%) by both groups. 10. The proposed understanding of Freud´s dream theory
However, spontaneous awakenings from REM sleep are (wish fulfillment as related to the end rather than to
associated with reduced (60.0%) dream recall in patients the beginning of dream work) expands the possibili-
but not in controls (88.9%). The authors interpret their find- ties of its application in clinical practice, without re-
ings as a „functional impairment of the visualization of sleep vising Freud’s theory of the wish-fulfilling function of
thoughts“ (Ermann, 1995, p. 179, emphasize in original, own dreams.
translation) and conclude that „[…] dreaming in patients with 11. Empirical dream research testing psychoanalytic as-
psycho-vegetative sleep disorders […] is […] a mechanism sumptions has revealed intriguing results but needs to
protecting from the formation of the “awakening” symptom” be intensified.
(Ermann et al., 1994, p. 113, own translation). Studies as As this article aims at facilitating the understanding of Freud´s
the ones performed by Solms and Erman et al. strikingly original dream theory, we abstain from summarizing further
illustrate the relevance of empirical research for a psycho- developments of psychoanalytic perspectives on dreaming
analytic understanding of the function(s) of dreaming. (compare Deserno, 1999). Illustrations of two approaches of
high relevance in this context – Morgenthaler’s distinction
8. Conclusion between the remembered and the told dream and its appli-
cation on psychoanalytic work with dreams (Morgenthaler,
The main characteristics of the reconsidered Freudian 2004) as well as the dream generation model of Moser and
dream theory are summarized as follows: colleagues (Hortig & Moser, 2019; Moser & Von Zeppelin,
1. The process of dream generation is instigated by a 1996), which combines psychoanalytic assumptions with
stimulus implying a demand upon the ego incompat- those from cognitive and artificial intelligence approaches
ible with the continuation of sleep. While psychoana- – can be found in Binswanger (2016) and Wittmann et al.
lytic theory focuses on internal, mental sleep-disturb- (2017).
ing stimuli originating either from the id (libidinous or
aggressive impulses striving for satisfaction) or from
the ego (preconscious concerns reinforced by an un-
Acknowledgment
conscious element), also external, sensory stimuli are The authors wish to thank Dr. Mark Solms and Dr. Michael
recognized. Schredl for their helpful comments on a previous version of
2. The function of the hallucinatory experiences remem- this manuscript.
bered as dreams is sleep-protection.
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