Out of it came a rose-red serpent, which was very long. Compare the Russian fairy tale of "The Little Bear," that will be mentioned in a later chapter. This last dream picture is from a young mother, to whom the time until the arrival of the child seems very long. The serpent is used, as we will see later, as a symbol for the male organ and through which fruit is brought forth; the long time is represented by the length of the serpent. The popular saying is: "At Frau N.'s the oven has fallen down;" that means that Frau N. has given birth.
The portal in the earlier related dream and the mouth in one to be related later belong to dream symbols to be similarly interpreted.
In the forest fire there are two components. Forest has here the same sexual significance as the nymph's forest in Freud,[1] it is the forest on the so-called mons veneris of women and belongs with it in the neighborhood of the long passage.
When there is burning in a dream usually the fire of love burns; in the dream, in the usage of language, in figurative representation (the heart of Jesus is, in the church symbolism, almost always represented with a flame, as the symbol of love, bursting forth from it) fire is closely connected with love; similarly in mythology.
In the special case this significance is quite transparent. The brother appears as a fireman. The brother represents therefore the family of the dreamer, which, living in the city does not agree with his marriage, and how this will prevent the fire. With this, is also connected, that the dreamer will not marry in the uniform of the rigid, confessionally disposed brother (family) but thinks, it makes no difference, one can marry civilly. He appears from now in riding costume. Just as we must translate the fire of the fire dream into love, so riding, signifies empirically, usually something sexual.
Women often dream in similar connection of horses which prance immediately before them and threaten to crush them.
The further analysis of the trousers will be passed over at this point.
The dreamer carries a sort of saber, not as usual but in a posi-
- ↑ "Bruchstücke einer Hysterieanalyse," Monatsschr. für Psychiatrie und Neurologie, Bd. XVIII, 1905, Heft 4 and 5.
