Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis II 1921 1.djvu/128

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120 COLLECTIVE REVIEWS

symbolism and to show his superiority on this point he identifies Silberer's opinion with the standpoint of tJ\e Freudian school, and makes this would-be witty remark: "If the principal condition of symbol-formation lies in an inadequacy of the power of compre- hension, the Freudian scliool does not exactly pay itself a compli- ment and their opponents will rejoice that they themselves encounter no symbols in their dreams". How uninformed the author is in the theory of symbolism is revealed unambi{»uously behind this ambiguous conception of symbol-formation, He is peculiarly drastic of course in his treatment of sex-symbolism; in rejecting this he knows no limits — not even those of experience. "We shall see in the case of examination dreams as in pollution dreams'^ that the matter in hand is actually quite different', diat moreover no dis- cussion of a sexual component need arise" ^ (p. 11).

That Kenning deliberately — deliberately is the only word possible — selects the pollution dreams for the refutation of sex- symbolism is proof of an undaunted distrust of the deception of the senses that one would iiave credited to no one but a Copernicus. The conviction however is soon forced on one that even he was more ^inclined to concessions tlian this pig-headed person. "The result is that this (pollution-dream) is directly concerned with the sexual act, and clearly without any sym- bolising whatever: of course the details are not of an aesthetic character. Therefore', I should prefer not to print tht actual words^ ^

but, without concealing anything essential, to omit the all too ^

drastic illustrations" (S. 43).

In this way Henning at least is spared the reproach which he levels at Freud, because the latter "does not examine the dream and its component at all, but only the dream-reproduction formulated m words" (S. 8). It is amazing to see the subtlety with which I lenning knows how to avoid this error. When it is impossible for him to evade altogether the necessity of committing the manifest dream content to words, he glides over it at least with supreme contempt thus: "Three men have a talc to tell of their sister (in a pollution dream), although none of them have the lea.st disposition towards incest, but on the contrary have a strong physical repugnance for her. One of them was conmiended by the sister on the day of the dream for

' Italics are the reviewer's. . • 'As SteJcel declares.

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