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The Interpretation of Dreams — Sigmund Freud

Freud's book on dreams, first published in German as Die Traumdeutung in 1899 (dated 1900). It argues that a dream, once interpreted, turns out to be the fulfilment of a wish, and it works through the "typical" dreams — falling, flying, being naked, examinations, the death of loved ones — using many of Freud's own dreams as examples. Dreamlore quotes the English translation by A. A. Brill, published in 1913.

Public-domain status

This edition was published in 1913, more than 95 years ago, so the text is in the public domain in the United States. Dreamlore uses the free Project Gutenberg edition (eBook #66048), where you can read the whole book. Copyright rules differ in other countries.

How Dreamlore quotes it

The app searches the full text for passages that match the words of your dream, alongside Miller and Dream Psychology. When a reading quotes the book, the quote is compared word for word with the passage it came from before you see it, and any quote that does not match exactly is removed. Nothing is paraphrased and presented as a quotation. More on how it works →

Sample passages

The dream represents a certain condition of affairs as I should wish it to be; the content of the dream is thus the fulfilment of a wish; its motive is a wish.

The first dream we have considered was the fulfilment of a wish; another may turn out to be a realised apprehension; a third may have a reflection as to its content; a fourth may simply reproduce a reminiscence.

Dreams of flying, for the most part characterised by delight, require the most widely different interpretations—altogether special interpretations in the case of some persons, and even interpretations of a typical nature in that of others.

I believe that the great majority of my readers will at some time have found themselves in this situation in a dream.

A note on reading it today

Many of Freud's claims about dreams are disputed by modern sleep and memory researchers. Dreamlore quotes him because this is the most influential book ever written on dreams and because his descriptions of common dreams are vivid and recognisable, not because every idea in it is settled.

Common dreams that quote this book

Dream about teeth falling outDream about fallingDream about flyingDream about water or drowningDream about deathDream about a houseDream about fireDream about school or examsDream about being naked

Browse the dream dictionary A–Z →

Dreamlore and these pages are for reflection and curiosity. The books quoted here are old — Miller wrote in 1901 and his entries read as omens, and many of Freud's ideas are disputed today. Take them as a starting point for thinking about your own dream, not as prediction or advice.