The Interpretation of Dreams

A little about the book

Freud argues that dreams can have a structure even when their images feel haphazard. He reads dreams by tracing associations from the remembered images and proposes that dream material has to pass through processes that distort or combine it. He draws from his own dreams and those reported by others, laying out his reasoning so readers can see why he gives particular details so much weight.

The work belongs to the early history of psychoanalysis and is best approached with an eye to how Freud builds and tests an interpretation. As one example gives way to the next, readers can ask how strongly the associations support the claims made for them. Brill’s translation also shows how the ideas were introduced to readers outside the German-speaking world.

Things You May Not Know About The Interpretation of Dreams

• A date on the original. The German original bears the date 1900, although copies appeared late in 1899.
• Brill’s English translation. This ebook reproduces the 1913 Macmillan translation by A. A. Brill, based on the third German edition.
• A dream anchors the method. Freud works through his dream of Irma’s injection in detail to demonstrate the kind of interpretation he proposes.
• Dream-work gets its own chapter. Freud describes processes such as condensation and displacement to explain how remembered dreams differ from the thoughts he associates with them.
• A new digital cover. The transcriber’s note says the ebook cover was created for the digital edition and placed in the public domain.