The Interpretation of Dreams

The Interpretation of Dreams is a book by Sigmund Freud, published in November 1899 but dated 1900.

In this work, Freud introduces his theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation, and discusses what would later become the theory of the Oedipus complex.

Freud argues that dreams express unconscious wishes through a distinction between their remembered content and underlying thoughts. He develops a method for interpreting what dreams mean through free association and analysis.

Groundbreaking at the time, the work helped lay the foundations of modern psychoanalysis. Although many of Freud’s claims remain disputed, the book is historically important for understanding the development of psychoanalysis and modern ideas about the unconscious.

This edition of The Interpretation of Dreams is based on the translation by Abraham Arden Brill.