Dreams as the pro-introjection of the mind: Dreams in Dostoevsky’s writings analysed from Freud’s dream theory

Abstract

What is the meaning of dreams? There have been several various interpretations of dreams expanding from the ‘superstitious’ viewpoint that mystifies dreams as the indication of the world of souls and spectres to the disinterested perspective that reckons them as just the ‘waste’ of mind. With the expectation to find out a scientific and realistic interpretation that values the true meaning of dreams, this paper combines the ideology of Fyodor Dostoevsky, the writer of dreams, with the theory of Sigmund Freud, one of the first psychologists that introduces a coherent and systematic theory about the meaning of dreams to state that dreams are projections of the mind. Based on Freud’s analyses of the projection of death drive and the introjection of life drive, this paper helps to shed light on the characters’ psychological structure and movement in six writings of Dostoevsky, namely the four classic novels The insulted and injured, Crime and punishment, The possessed and The brothers Karamazov; the novella Notes from underground, and the short story The dream of a ridiculous man. The article shows that Dostoevsky's characters expose intensely powerful and profound emotional experiences, much like Freud's deep psychological analyses. Objectively speaking, whether one agrees or disagrees with Dostoevsky and Freud's dark and extreme interpretations of human nature, we must acknowledge that they have provided an intriguing perspective on the human mind in its dream state.