(1926). International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 7:237-243 It is frequently stated in psycho-analytic literature that the serpent may appear in dreams or in neurotic phantasy as a sexual symbol. Wohlgemuth in his Critical Examination of Psycho-Analysis denies the - 237 -erotic significance of the serpent entirely. He attempts to prove that the serpent is a symbol of immortality, and not of sex. The point to be noted in Wohlgemuth's championship of the immortality symbolism as an alleged exclusive alternative to the sexual symbolism is his implicit subscription to a theory of a universal significance, attachable on every occasion to any given symbol. In this matter Wohlgemuth goes further than Freud; for although Freud raises the question of the possibility of giving dream symbols 'a firmly established significance like the signs in stenography', he expressly denies that there is any certainty in attaching the usual or common meaning to any individual case of symbolism. If Wohlgemuth had expressed his theory with equal caution h [This is a summary or excerpt from the full text of the book or article. The full text of the document is available to subscribers.] |
