STORY OF A CHILDHOOD NEUROSIS ("WOLF MAN")
(CHAP. IV AND VII) (29-46, 74-5)
Sigmund Freud (1918)
Summary:
IV. THE DREAM AND THE PRIMORDIAL SCENE
We have already published this dream elsewhere because of its richness in elements taken from traditional tales, and I will repeat
what was communicated there: "I dreamed at night and was in my bed. My bed was facing the window, and in front of the window
was a row of old walnut trees. It was winter when I dreamed, and it was night. Suddenly, the window opens by itself, and I see
with great terror that on the large walnut tree in front of the window are sitting several white wolves. There were six or seven of
them. The wolves were completely white and looked more like foxes or sheepdogs, with large tails like foxes and stiff ears like dogs
on alert. Filled with anguish, clearly afraid of being eaten by wolves, I begin to scream and wake up. My nanny runs to my bed to
find out what had happened to me. It took me a long time to convince myself that it had only been a dream, because the image
of the window opening and the wolves sitting on the tree seemed so natural and vivid to me. Finally, I calmed down, felt reli eved
of danger, and went back to sleep.
"In the dream, the only action was the opening of the window, since the wolves were completely still and did not move in the
branches of the tree, to the right and left of the trunk, looking at me. It seemed as if they had directed all their attentio n to me. I
think this was my first anxiety dream. I was three, four, at most five years old. From then until I was eleven or twelve years old, I
was always afraid of seeing something terrible in my dreams."
"He also drew a picture of the tree with the wolves, confirming his description [Figure 1]. The analysis of the dream brings to light
the following material. He always related this dream to the memory that in those early years of his childhood he showed in tense
anxiety at the image of a wolf that appeared in a book of traditional stories. His elder sister, who was much more advanced, used
to tease him by showing him this picture under any pretext, after which he would start screaming in terror. The image sh owed the
wolf standing upright, advancing with one of its hind legs extended, claws out, and stiff ears. He believes he recognized thi s image
as an illustration from the story 'Little Red Riding Hood.'"
In this analysis, he wonders why the wolves in the dream are white, leading the patient to remember the plague among the sheep
near his home. It relates to a story you heard about a tailor who confronts a wolf and strips it of its tail. The story invol ves castration,
reflected in the absence of tails in the wolves of the dream.
The question of why there are six or seven wolves is solved by linking the dream to the traditional tales of Little Red Ridin g Hood
and The Wolf and the Seven Goats. Both stories share elements such as devouring and the tree. The dream reveals a genuine
zoophobia related to these tales, generated by childhood anguish towards the father figure.
The explanation of these phobias is linked to the neurosis of the patient and his relationship with the father. Anguish in front of
the father drove her illness, and her ambivalent attitude towards him marked her life and her treatment.
This analysis suggests that the wolf in the stories represents the child's fear of the father, especially considering the patient's
father's interactions with him during his childhood.
In our analysis, we move away from the initial assessment of the dream to focus on its immediate interpretation. Obtaining th is
interpretation was a process that spanned several years. From the beginning of the treatment, the patient shared the dream, and
quickly accepted that it was related to the cause of his infantile neurosis. Throughout the treatment, we review the dream several
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(CHAP. IV AND VII) (29-46, 74-5)
Sigmund Freud (1918)
Summary:
IV. THE DREAM AND THE PRIMORDIAL SCENE
We have already published this dream elsewhere because of its richness in elements taken from traditional tales, and I will repeat
what was communicated there: "I dreamed at night and was in my bed. My bed was facing the window, and in front of the window
was a row of old walnut trees. It was winter when I dreamed, and it was night. Suddenly, the window opens by itself, and I see
with great terror that on the large walnut tree in front of the window are sitting several white wolves. There were six or seven of
them. The wolves were completely white and looked more like foxes or sheepdogs, with large tails like foxes and stiff ears like dogs
on alert. Filled with anguish, clearly afraid of being eaten by wolves, I begin to scream and wake up. My nanny runs to my bed to
find out what had happened to me. It took me a long time to convince myself that it had only been a dream, because the image
of the window opening and the wolves sitting on the tree seemed so natural and vivid to me. Finally, I calmed down, felt reli eved
of danger, and went back to sleep.
"In the dream, the only action was the opening of the window, since the wolves were completely still and did not move in the
branches of the tree, to the right and left of the trunk, looking at me. It seemed as if they had directed all their attentio n to me. I
think this was my first anxiety dream. I was three, four, at most five years old. From then until I was eleven or twelve years old, I
was always afraid of seeing something terrible in my dreams."
"He also drew a picture of the tree with the wolves, confirming his description [Figure 1]. The analysis of the dream brings to light
the following material. He always related this dream to the memory that in those early years of his childhood he showed in tense
anxiety at the image of a wolf that appeared in a book of traditional stories. His elder sister, who was much more advanced, used
to tease him by showing him this picture under any pretext, after which he would start screaming in terror. The image sh owed the
wolf standing upright, advancing with one of its hind legs extended, claws out, and stiff ears. He believes he recognized thi s image
as an illustration from the story 'Little Red Riding Hood.'"
In this analysis, he wonders why the wolves in the dream are white, leading the patient to remember the plague among the sheep
near his home. It relates to a story you heard about a tailor who confronts a wolf and strips it of its tail. The story invol ves castration,
reflected in the absence of tails in the wolves of the dream.
The question of why there are six or seven wolves is solved by linking the dream to the traditional tales of Little Red Ridin g Hood
and The Wolf and the Seven Goats. Both stories share elements such as devouring and the tree. The dream reveals a genuine
zoophobia related to these tales, generated by childhood anguish towards the father figure.
The explanation of these phobias is linked to the neurosis of the patient and his relationship with the father. Anguish in front of
the father drove her illness, and her ambivalent attitude towards him marked her life and her treatment.
This analysis suggests that the wolf in the stories represents the child's fear of the father, especially considering the patient's
father's interactions with him during his childhood.
In our analysis, we move away from the initial assessment of the dream to focus on its immediate interpretation. Obtaining th is
interpretation was a process that spanned several years. From the beginning of the treatment, the patient shared the dream, and
quickly accepted that it was related to the cause of his infantile neurosis. Throughout the treatment, we review the dream several
1
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