The dream of a twenty-four-year-old graduate student. Existential and Jungian considerations.

Abstract

There are dreams that portray with unusual clarity critical junctures in a person's life. Inasmuch as the realm from which the images of a dream emerge is of the same nature as the source of genuine fairy tales, it is intuitively perceptive of the latter's deeper meanings. Thus suitable fairy tale themes can enhance the experiential insight into dreams. The young student's dream that we discussed indicates a sharp awareness of several existential disharmonies. He confuses the messages originating in his innermost self with external demands against which he still rebels blindly; he is incapable of metamorphosing creatively the numerous disorganized urges within himself; and he thus cannot achieve a positive relationship with his deeper potentials which are set aside. The comparison of the dream with an analogous, charming Romansh tale portraying a harmonious solution of the young man's impasse proved to be of crucial help.