Wordsworth Classics of World Literature: The Interpretation of Dreams

This text presents Freuds theory that man is unable to tolerate too much reality, and that dreams are the contraband representations of the beast within man which are smuggled into awareness during sleep. The analysis of dreams is the key to unlocking the vital secrets of the unconscious mind. Translated by A.A. Brill With an Introduction by Stephen Wilson. Sigmund Freuds audacious masterpiece, The Interpretation of Dreams, has never ceased to stimulate controversy since its publication in 1900. Freud is acknowledged as the founder of psychoanalysis, the key to unlocking the human mind, a task which has become essential to mans survival in the twentieth century, as science and technology have rushed ahead of our ability to cope with their consequences. Freud saw that man is at war with himself and often unable to tolerate too much reality. He propounded the theory that dreams are the contraband representations of the beast within man, smuggled into awareness during sleep. In Freudian interpretation, the analysis of dreams is the key to unlocking the secrets of the unconscious mind.