Table Of ContentThe Oxford Book of
Dream.s
Stephen Brook
THE
OXFORD BOOK OF
DREAMS
STEVEN BROOK was born in London, and after a career
in publishing became a full-time writer in 1982, special
izing in travel, wine, and anthologies. His books include
New York Dqys, New York Nights, The Double Eagle, and LA
Lore. In addition he has written three books on the wines
of Bordeaux, and two on the Wines of California.
THE
OXFORD BOOK OF
DREAMS
CHOSEN BY
STEPHEN BROOK
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
l1NIVBIUIITY PIlIISS
G=.t ClarendoD StICC~ Oxford ox, 60p
Oxfotd Univetsity Press is a department Df the University Df OxfDrd.
It furthers the University's objective of acclIeDcc in rcacan:b, scho1anhip,
and educatiOD by publishing .rorldwide in
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OxfDrd is a registered ttade marl< Df OxfDrd Univetsity Press
in the UK and in certain other countries
Published in the United States
by Oxford Univetsity Presslnc., New YOlk
Introduction and compilation C Strohen Brook t 983
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
o.taba!e right OxfDrd Univetsity Preas (maker)
F"" published 1983 by OxfDrd Univetsity Preas
First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback t 987
Reissued 2002
AJI rights reserved. ND part of this publicatiDn may be reproduced,
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Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulau: this book in any other binding or cover
and you mwJt impose this same condition on any acquirer
British library Cataloguing in PublicatiDn Data
Data awilable
library of Congress Cataloging in Publication o.ta
Main CDtty under title:
The Oxford book of dreams.
Includes index.
I. DtcaIru-litcrary ooUccrion.
I. Brook. Stephen.
PN6071.D6709 1983 808.8'.8'0353 81-24601
ISBN ()"'19-280385-9
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Printed in Great Britain by
Clays Ltd., St Ivcs pic
, For .
. -,
S;"'o" Strum
Contents
~
Introduction
IX
Prologue 1
FROM BIRTH TO DEATH
Children and Parents 7
Love and Sex 2.5
Old Age and Illness 48
Death 58
II EARTHLY THINGS
Food 81
Animals 88
Travel and the Natural World 106
Real People 12.3
Creativity 132-
Violence 143
Happy Endings 164
III THE DREAM WORLD
Into Sleep 171
Nightmare 175
The Absurd 196
Transformations and Frustrations 2.13
Religious 2.2. 3
Interpretations 2.34
Waking 2.44
Conclusion: A Few Reflections 2.49
Acknowledgements 2.59
Index 2.67
Introduction
~
BECAUSE dreaming is a ubiquitous activity, dreams have always
been ascribed the greatest significance. Dreams, the cryptic under
side of our conscious waking existence, fleetingly revealed while our
critical faculties and our grip on reality are numbed, are seen to
contain messages of various kinds, whether portents or warnings or
allegories. From earliest times dreams have been transcribed and
interpreted, and numerous examples can be found in such very
different works as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and the Bible.
Side by side with these early accounts of dreams we find volumes of
dream interpretation. Artemidorus, from whose Oneirocriticon
(The Interpretation of Dreams) I quote in the selections that follow,
compiled his comprehensive guide in the 2nd century AD and in the
course of his book he refers to a number of earlier books of the same
kind, thus making it clear that his own volume was merely the latest
in a long tradition of dream interpretation.
This tradition is still alive, and ranges from the scientific studies of
Maury, Freud, and Jung to the tawdry interpretations offered by
Napoleon's Book of Fate and other such compilations of varying
degrees of spuriousness. The power and subtlety of Freud's theory
must command respect, however much we may wish to take issue
with it, whereas the often anonymous volumes alleging to offer
dream interpretations may confidently be tossed aside, though they
may be of value as repositories of folklore. Most such books offer a
principle of interpretation based on a system of correspondences;
this is not only simplistic but alien to the actual experience of
dreaming.
Although this anthology does contain examples of dream
interpretation, most of the dreams in this book are instances of the
literary exploitation of the dream experience. Of course the
distinction is in many respects a false one, if only because the dream
as a literary device is bound up with the use its creator chooses to
make of it. The invention of a dream is in itself an act of
interpretation, bearing burdens that the dreamer may either carry or
reject but can hardly ever ignore. They enlighten or perplex but are
rarely neutral or without purpose. Dreams, because they are
regarded as beyond our conscious control, are often made in
literature to convey information or desires that, if overt, might be
