Finally, we have traced “the dreamer’s focal conflict and their patterns for responding to it to their sources in the dreamer’s past” (French and Fromm, 1964, p. 95). Though we don’t have access to any therapeutic records, we do have knowledge of Katherine’s broken nose and her lingering concern with physical appearances.
As French and Fromm (1964, p. 7) have declared, the evidence of thoughtful and creative ego-functioning in a dream (such as found in Kathrine’s Pelican Dream) is “so abundant that its significance cannot be grasped all at once.” I have certainly found this to be the case as I return repeatedly to Kathrine’s dream and find new insights each time. French and Fromm (1964, p. 9) offer the following advice:
In order to make full use of [the interpretative process] the interpreter must proceed as he would with a complicated jigsaw puzzle, trying to piece together first one part of it and then another, until finally he gets a glimpse of what the whole picture is like.
Making use of the ego psychological perspectives and interpretive strategies of Thomas French and Erika Fromm, I have been able to assemble a wonderous portrait of Katherine’s inner life—especially as it relates to her outer life and her confrontation with fundamental issues in her life. I know that a wide variety of pictures can be assembled from Katherine’s rich and complex dream. I hope the portrait I have rendered is an interpretive offering that you find particularly intriguing. You might even gain some insights regarding your own dreams and the dreams of people with whom you interact and might even attempt to help. I would like this to be the outcome of my work with this dream about a Pelican.
Coda
I had a dream last night, just as I am preparing to publish this essay. In the dream, I was meeting with Lou Breger (who very sadly passed away about one year ago). I was telling him about this dream and about its origins in the dream lab (which Breger established) and about my use of the French and Fromm approach to dream interpretation (to which Breger introduced me). He was delighted on both accounts. I then mentioned that I would be moving on in future essays to other interpretations of dreams—often using dreams I have collected in years since the dream lab was concluded. Lou Breger seemed to be equally as delighted that I was looking at dreams from multiple perspectives and that I had moved on beyond the lab.
As I woke up and recalled this dream with Lou Breger, I was reminded of an old Yiddish story involving a wise Rabbi (of course). A young assistant to the Rabbi listened as a member of their synagogue came to meet with the Rabbi and complained about the mistreatment he had received from a neighbor. The Rabbi agreed wholeheartedly that this man had every right to be angry. The Rabbi declared: ”You are right, absolutely right!” Our man left with a smile on his face—for his story and feelings had been confirmed by the Rabbi. The neighbor soon arrived and offered the Rabbi his own version of the story. The Rabbi once again supported this story. He told the neighbor: “You are right, absolutely right!” The neighbor left with a smile on his face, having found justification for his side of the story. The assistant was quite upset. He confronted the Rabbi and declared that both of these stories can’t be correct. Only one can be right. The Rabbi paused for a moment and then declared: “You are right, absolutely right!”
When I offer alternative interpretations of other dreams, I can image my mentor, Lou Breger, declaring: “You are right, absolutely right.” So, I move on to other dreams and to other ways in which to view the structure, dynamics, function(s) and meaning(s) of dreams.
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