Dreaming in Vienna I J o D R Dreaming in Vienna: Analyzing dreams of Arthur Schnitzler and Sigmund Freud Franziska Beuerle & Michael Schredl Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Ger- many Summary. The goal of the present study was to analyze the dreams of Arthur Schnitzler and explore the dream content for potential parallels or differences to what is known about his private life in order to test the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. In addition, Freud’s dream content was also analyzed in order to compare Freud’s and Schnitzler’s dreams. One hundred dream reports from Schnitzler and 34 dreams from Freud were coded using the Hall and Van de Castle rating system. Schnitzler reported more familiar characters, more friends and more family characters as well as a lower male percent compared to the male norms. In addition, Schnitzler showed less aggression in his dreams and an equal amount of friendly interaction with male and female dream characters. Compared to Freud, Schnitzler showed more familiar characters and a lower bodily misfortunes percent in his dreams. These differences can in part be explained by the continuity hypothesis. Future research could analyze dream diaries of other writers from different time periods or persons with different occupations. Keywords: Dreams, continuity hypothesis, Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund Freud 1. Introduction than himself (Hall & Domhoff, 1968). The authors interpreted this pattern as indicative of Freud’s and Jung’s personali- 1.1. General remarks ties and their waking life experiences. For example, Freud is described as a social person with many close friends, Writers, musicians, and painters but also scientists, ar- whereas Jung is described as more solitary, explaining the chitects, and film makers have used dreams as a source differences in familiar dream characters between the two of inspiration (Barrett, 2001): For example, Albrecht Dürer men. Moreover, Hall and Domhoff (1968) see Freud’s hostil- painted an image from his dream as did William Blake. Paul ity towards women in his dreams as an inverted Oedipus McCartney, Beethoven, and Richard Wagner heard the complex (sexual desire for the same-sex parent and hatred sound for their musical compositions in their dreams. Au- of the opposite-sex parent). In addition, Freud’s dreams in- thors like Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote “Frankenstein”, cluded more success than Jung’s reports which could be in Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, or Charlotte Bronte were accordance with Freud’s goals and achievements in real life, inspired by their dreams to write one or several of their nov- whereas Jung did not put as much effort into success and els. Therefore, it could be potentially interesting to closer fame as Freud did. examine dream content of authors and how they incorpo- Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author who lived at rated dreams into their works. the same time as Freud. He was very much interested in In a study of Hall and Domhoff (1968) dreams from Freud dreams and recorded many of his own dreams during his and Jung were analyzed with the coding system of Hall and life (Schnitzler, 2012). He was also an acquaintance of Freud Van de Castle (1966) and several differences between the who described Schnitzler as his “Doppelganger” in one of two men and the male norms (500 dreams of 100 American his letters to him. Therefore it could be potentially interest- male students) were found. For example, Freud dreamed ing to compare Schnitzler’s and Freud’s dreams since they more about friends and acquaintances than Jung. More- share some similarities, for example living in the same time over, Freud had more aggression towards women than men and place, both being Jewish but not practitioners of reli- and more friendly interaction with men than women, which gion, both having studied medicine, and sharing an interest is a reversed pattern compared to the male norms. Freud in dreams and dream interpretation. also had more success than failure and in his dreams mis- fortune happened more often to other dream characters 1.2. Biography of Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler was a Jewish Austrian author and drama- tist who was born and lived in Vienna in the years from 1862 Corresponding address: to 1931. The following paragraphs follow the biography of Michael Schredl, Sleep laboratory, Central Institute of Mental Fliedl (2005). The peak of his literary career was before the Health, PO Box 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim, Germany. World War I. During his life in Austria he earned much praise Email: [email protected] but also much criticism for his work and had to endure the rising anti-Semitic atmosphere in Europe before his death Submitted for publication: April 2017 in 1931. Born in Vienna as the first child of his parents he Accepted for publication: September 2017 already discovered his preference for poetry and literature 164 International Journal of Dream Research Volume 10, No. 2 (2017) Dreaming in Vienna I J o D R and his dislike for science as a study subject during his 1.4. Arthur Schnitzler’s attitude towards psycho- youth. However, since his father was a famous physician analysis in Vienna and wanted him to pursue a medical career, Ar- thur studied medicine and worked as a doctor at first. He Schnitzler was interested in dreams and had written down had always felt like he was competing with his father and many of his own dreams during his life (Schnitzler, 2012). later with his younger brother Julius who became a doctor He had also read a lot of Freud’s publications and was in- as well, and his younger sister Gisela’s husband who was terested but also critical of his theories (Le Rider, 2008). The also a doctor (Fliedl, 2005). Even though Schnitzler started interest in Schnitzler originated mainly from Freud and his to publish his own work early on in 1880, it was only after his colleagues who had also read Schnitzler’s work and in turn father’s death in 1893 that Arthur started to seriously pursue mentioned him in their publications. Schnitzler was espe- a career as a writer. In his life he published multiple novels cially critical of the theory about the unconscious and the and theater plays that earned him praise and criticism as rigidity of its representatives about it. In his opinion psycho- well. His novella “Fräulein Else” was even adapted into a analysts made use of the unconsciousness as an explana- movie during his lifetime in 1929. tion way too often when it was not necessary to do so. He Schnitzler had multiple close friends and colleagues who also recognized their tendency to take any critique and re- also had careers in the theater and publishing business, for fusals as proof for their theories and criticized their attempt example Otto Brahm, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Hugo von to describe dream symbols and the Oedipus complex as Hofmannsthal, and Hermann Bahr (Fliedl, 2005). He was overall phenomena that applied to every person. Schnitzler also an acquaintance of Sigmund Freud after they first met accepted the psychoanalytical interpretations of his writ- in 1922 (Le Rider, 2008). Starting in his early years, he had ten characters but he disliked the attempts to transfer the several relationships with women like Franziska Reich, Ma- results on the author, himself. Other authors of this time rie Glümer, or Marie Reinhard (Fliedl, 2005). Kandel (2012) period, for example Robert Musil, did not accept psycho- wrote that Schnitzler had “multiple sexual experiences”. In analytical interpretations of written characters as easily as 1902 he had a son, Heinrich Schnitzler, with his lover Olga Schnitzler and offered tough criticism of attempts to do so Gussmann, even though they were not married at the time. (Le Rider, 2008). However, even though he was interested in They married in the year of 1903 and had a second daugh- psychoanalytical interpretations, Schnitzler was also a strict ter named Lili Schnitzler in 1909. Even though Schnitzler critic of psychoanalytical theories. was something of a “womanizer” in his youth, Fliedl (2005) writes that Schnitzler became a “responsible family father” 1.5. Dreams in the work of Arthur Schnitzler after their marriage which was divorced in 1921. Schnitzler’s Schnitzler incorporated the subject of dreams into a lot of daughter Lili committed suicide in 1928, which was a tragic his written work, for example in “Frühlingsnacht im Sezier- loss for Schnitzler. 3 years later in October 1931 Schnitzler saal”, “Alkandis Lied”, “Die Weissagung”, “Die Nächste”, died presumably of a brain stroke (Fliedl, 2005). “Frau Berta Garlan”, “Der Schleier der Beatrice”, and “Fräu- Freud described Schnitzler as a determined and skeptical lein Else” (Perlmann, 1987). person in one of his letters, whose character people would One of his most popular works is his novella “Dream Sto- mistake for pessimism (Scheible, 2000). Moreover, Freud ry” (in German “Traumnovelle”) from 1925 which was also wrote about Schnitzler that he was moved by the truth of adapted into the film “Eyes Wide Shut” by director Stanley the unconsciousness and adhering to the polarity of love Kubrick with actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in 1999. and death, which in turn evoked a feeling of familiarity in In the fifth chapter the female character Albertine tells her Freud. Schnitzler was known as a critic of social rules and husband Fridolin a dream she had in which she cheated on conventions of his time, for example the role of women in him with a male dream character whereas Fridolin was faith- society and the “laziness” of doctors to advance the sci- ful to her in the dream and as a consequence got tortured ences (Perlmann, 1987).