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LITERARY, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND METAPHYSICAL ASPECTS OF
DREAM INTERPRETATION IN FICTION
Abdullaeva Charoskhon
Independent researcher, Fergana State University
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16792028
Abstract:
The article examines the phenomenon of sleep in fiction as a
multidimensional and significant element of the text, reflecting the inner world
of the characters, the author's intention and cultural and historical context. The
article analyzes the symbolic, psychological and metaphysical function of
dreams, their role in the disclosure of characters, the development of the plot
and the construction of artistic reality.
Keywords:
Keywords: sleep in literature, literary dreaming, symbolism of
sleep, psychological analysis, metaphysical approach, poetics of sleep.
Introduction
The phenomenon of sleep has been of interest to mankind since ancient
times, including through the prism of philosophical and anthropological aspects,
in the field of culture and art. The problem of sleep images in a literary work is
subordinated to the logic of the author's idea and symbols. The very concept of a
literary text is considered as a construct of semantic images, which means that a
dream can act as a means of understanding a character and a compositional
device. World and Russian literature regularly turns to the theme of sleep, due to
its rich symbolism. It is worth noting that the problem of analyzing literary
dreams does not have a common understanding and interpretation in the expert
community, including due to the specifics of definitions and approaches used.
Methods
Sleep in literary works is a powerful tool that can express the hidden
meanings, emotions and experiences of the hero, reveal and predict events. The
author uses the dream technique to reveal the inner contradictions, fears, and
desires of the hero, which makes it easier for the reader to understand the image
and its motivation. As a rule, in a literary work, a dream is necessary in order to
illustrate the inner world of the hero, reveal his secret motives and feelings,
demonstrate inner struggle and personal growth. Sleep allows you to start the
processes of reflection on the nature of reality. With his help, the author blurs
the line between reality and irrational thinking, puts the hero in a situation
where the hero needs to face his true self, events that cannot be unambiguously
interpreted, and test his sanity. Sleep is important to reflect its historical and
cultural background. Literature often considers sleep in the context of the views
of a modern era and its culture. A typical example is the content of dreams in
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Homer's works, where there is a world of gods, the dead and mortals, which is
typical of the worldview of that era.
Results
Equally important is the author's environment, his understanding of the
phenomenon, and his attitude to dreams. So, from the testimonies of
contemporaries, it is known that Leonid Andreev, under the impression of a
dream, once became convinced that death did not exist, and Vladimir Nabokov,
as an experiment, purposefully recorded his dreams in order to understand the
origins of the future and the causes of past events in his life. The German
expressionist poet Georg Geim acted in a similar way.
Dreams are interpreted according to religions' attitudes towards them,
scientific evidence, social changes, and cultural codes. For example, in the Middle
Ages and early Modern times, sleep was associated with spiritual practice and
could be regarded as a sign. The authors are attracted by the aesthetics of
images and styles that can surround a literary dream. Indeed, the image of a
dream is revealed through vivid and unusual visual solutions, an experiment
with language and narrative structure. Dream scenes serve to expand the
possibilities of the artistic text and the author's manner. James Joyce ("Ulysses")
does the same thing to demonstrate a consciously fragmented experience of
reality through a change in the inner states of the characters.
It is obvious that the process of studying sleep in literature is multilevel,
where human life and creative reinvention converge. Each writer has his own
palette for depicting the interpretation of a dream, full of images and symbols,
archetypes that characterize this topic in world literature.
In order to analyze dreams in literature, it is necessary to use methods that,
in turn, can be grouped by purpose. Albert Beguin suggests using a
psychological, literary and metaphysical approach for this purpose. In the first
method, a dream is a material that reveals the mental state of the hero or author.
Thus, the approach is based on the attitude to sleep as a document that lists the
symptoms of a writer's neurosis. The application of the approach allows us to
consider the psychology of the hero through dreams, which, in turn, are an
element of the work, which emphasizes the duality of the nature of the
phenomenon of literary dreaming itself [2].
According to A. Begen, in this context, the analysis of an artistic work turns
into a psychological, medical fact.
The same approach is practiced by Kannosuke Nakamura in his work
"Dostoevsky's Sense of Life and Death." So, for him, the dream of the golden age
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in the "Teenager" is a projection on the worldview of the author himself, and
people of his circle, of the epoch [4]. There is an identification of the author and
the hero-dreamer. Nakamura considers Dostoevsky to be "poisoned" by the
dream of paradise, and Versilov to be a shadow, which again reveals the author's
credo [4].
Discussion
With a literary approach, a character's dream is important for assessing his
role in the onset of the denouement, the disclosure of characters. A dream can
also be just a funny interlude, which does not negate its artistic merits and role
in shaping the general idea of the work [3].
Thus, a literary dream is structurally a part of a text with a specific function
[1]. A. Begen considers this approach optimal for research work. Research based
on this approach delves into the nature of reality created by dreams. According
to this classification, it can be cosmic, divine or illusory [3]. In other words, the
problems related to the assessment of artistic reality through the poetics of
sleep are being investigated. Obviously, this approach correlates with the
psychological one.
An example of such a study is A. Remizov's book "The Fire of Things:
Dreams and the Dawn" (1954), which consists of an essay that examines aspects
of dreams in Russian literature. A literary dream is linked to the psychological,
mental state of the author. For example, the dreams in Nikolai Gogol's "Evenings
on a Farm near Dikanka" are turned into his own past, his emotional state in the
period before March 19, 1809 [5].
At the same time, one should not forget that a literary dream is a means of
reflecting the artistic world of a work; in this paradigm, dreams acquire a special
metaphorical character and reveal the author's understanding of creativity.
"Gogol's entire work, from the Red Scroll to the Dead Souls, can be imagined as a
series of dreams with awakenings in a dream in the image of Chartkov's three-
step dream (Portrait) or Svidrigailov's three-step dream (Crime and
Punishment) repeated after Gogol" [5].
The metaphysical approach to the analysis of dreams in fiction is a
methodological strategy aimed at identifying deep, transcendent meanings
hidden in the structure of a literary text. Unlike the psychological approach,
which focuses on interpreting the unconscious processes and inner experiences
of a character, as well as literary analysis, which focuses on composition, style,
and poetics, the metaphysical approach involves addressing ontological,
spiritual, and mythopoeic aspects. Albert Beguin, highlighting this method along
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with others, emphasizes its importance in cases where sleep in literature
functions not just as an episode, but as a key to understanding the universal
categories of being, truth and the sacred [2].
In the framework of metaphysical analysis, a dream is considered as a
symbolic space in which contact with higher reality is carried out. It can act as a
revelation, allowing the hero — and through him the reader — to touch the
hidden truth, inaccessible in everyday experience. In addition, sleep can be
interpreted as a mythopoeic element associated with archetypes, sacred images,
and universal structures of consciousness. Thus, the metaphysical approach
allows us to consider a dream not as a psychological reaction or stylistic device,
but as a way of expressing deep philosophical and spiritual meanings.
Examples from classical literature illustrate the productivity of this
approach. In F. M. Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov's
dreams, especially the episode with the slaughtered horse, reveal not only his
internal conflict, but also broader moral and ontological problems. This dream
can be read as a metaphysical revelation symbolizing the destruction of the
ethical order and a premonition of spiritual degradation [5]. In Marcel Proust's
"In Search of Lost Time," dreams and half-asleep states become a form of
philosophical reflection on the nature of time, memory, and being. The
metaphysical approach allows us to interpret these episodes as a poetic
expression of the desire for eternity and the restoration of lost meaning. In
Franz Kafka's short story "Transformation," Gregor Samsa's transformation,
although not presented as a dream, can be interpreted as a metaphysical dream
realized in reality. His transformation symbolizes existential isolation, loss of
human essence and spiritual crisis [5].
Conclusions
The analysis of dreams in fiction requires an integrated approach
combining psychological, literary and metaphysical methods. Each of them
reveals different levels of meaning inherent in the dream image. Taken together,
they allow us to consider a literary dream as a form of expression of universal
ideas related to existence, truth and the sacred. Thus, a dream in literature is not
just an episode, but a key to understanding the deep structure of a literary text.
References:
1. Beaudry A. Poétique du rêve chez Leiris et Queneau: en marge du surréalisme.
S.l., 2010; Pont C.A. Yeuxouverts, yeuxfermés: la poétique du rêvedans l’ œuvre
de Marguerite Yourcenar. Amsterdam; Atlanta, 1994
2. Béguin A. L’âmeromantique et le rêve: en 2 vol. Vol. 1 Marseille, 1937 P. XXIX.
3. Béguin A. Op. cit. P. XXVI.
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4. Nakamura K. Dostoevsky's sense of life and death. St. Petersburg, 1997, p. 131
5. Remizov A. The Fire of things: dreams and the dawn // Remizov A. Dreams
and foothills. St. Petersburg, 2000, p. 43
