Tuesday 30 March 2021

Sigmund Freud & Rumer Godden - Paradigms of Wish Fulfillment

In Freud's influential book "The Interpretation of Dreams", (English translation by A. A. Brill) the third chapter is devoted to dream as wish fulfillment. Among the profuse cases described, two examples of a little girl (Freud's own daughter Anna at different ages) may be quoted, as further on in this essay, Rumer Godden's books (which were written for little girls) are analysed.

In the first case, when Anna was three & a quarter years of age, she was taken on her first boat ride, which was too short for her liking. She didn't want to get out & cried bitterly. Next morning, she said "Last night, I was sailing on the Lake." (In her dream of course).

In the second case, Anna, now eight & a half years of age was taken with her younger brother & a neighbour's well behaved twelve year old son Emil on a trip. When the children were ahead, Freud himself overheard Emil say to the younger children "Let us wait for "Papa" & "Mama", referring to Herr & Frau Freud in an affectionate way. On their way back at the railway station, Anna asked for chocolates from the vending machine, which was refused by her mother. Next morning, Anna related her night's dream that Emil was living in their house & her mother came & threw a boxful of chocolates in her room. Because the previous day Emil had referred to her parents as "Papa" & "Mama",  Anna had adopted him into her family in her dream & her un-fulfilled longing for chocolates was also satisfied.

Rumer Godden (1907-1998) was a popular British author, who wrote many children's books, especially about dolls. Seven of those books have been published as an Omnibus edition by  Macmillan. As obviously the dolls can't move or talk, they communicate with each other by thoughts & try to influence the children with whom they come in contact by fervently wishing their needs. Godden makes no secret of her opinion that dolls need children as much as children need dolls. Whenever they are in a quandary, dolls advise each other to wish harder & these being children's books, their wishes eventually come true.

If in Freud, wishes are fulfilled in dreams, in Godden's Doll books, the dolls wishes are fulfilled in real life.

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