Literary Dreams of Animals within the Framework of Psychoanalysis. The Case of Dogs. A Comparative Study Cover Image

Literackie sny zwierząt po psychoanalizie. Przypadek psów. Studium porównawcze
Literary Dreams of Animals within the Framework of Psychoanalysis. The Case of Dogs. A Comparative Study

Author(s): Piotr Krupiński
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Psychology, Theoretical Linguistics, Studies of Literature, Comparative Linguistics, Polish Literature, Psychoanalysis
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: Stefan Flukowski; Jerzy Ficowski; psychoanalysis; Sigmund Freud Dream Theory; animal studies

Summary/Abstract: The main objective of the paper is to compare two short stories: “Dog’s Dream” by Stefan Flukowski and “Waiting for the Dog to Dream” by Jerzy Ficowski. The element that both narratives have in common, as their titles indicate, is the question of their onirism. This is especially evident in Flukowski’s story, which almost in its entirety is a record of a “literary dream of psychoanalysis” (to use Inga Iwasiów’s phrase). The short story represents a fascination with Sigmund Freud, common to many writers of the interwar period, especially when it comes to his “Interpretation of Dreams.” Yet, an additional difficulty for the author of this article is the fact that the main characters of these stories – those who dream – are animals, i.e. dogs. This type of a narrative experiment demands an interpretative transgression beyond literary studies, towards natural sciences. The study includes many references to such disciplines as neurobiology, aetiology and evolutionary cognitive science.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 14
  • Page Range: 341-360
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish
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