«Sad little girl»

(The space-emotional interpretation of a dream)

Facts and dates
Mr. N. A. (about 60 years old and a very experienced
neurologist-psychiatrist) called me on Saturday 26 June 1998, at one
o'clock noon, to tell me that this good friend of his (and a client at
times) had a very interesting dream only yesterday which I could try to
interpret using my method. He gave me the phone of the dreamer (Vasilis
P.), age 47, bachelor, whom I called immediately and fixed the first
appointment for that same afternoon at six.

The sequence of the events
It is interesting to notice that, as usually, in the interpretation of
this dream, too, the facts are not represented in the sequence that
actually happened for the dreamer: (1. previous event, 2. initial event,
3. dream event), but in the sequence presented to me and interpreted by
me: (1. Dream, 2. initial event, 3. previous event). In fact he told me
just a dream (he had come to me meant to just say his dream, being
ignorant of anything else) and I elicited from him all the rest working
backwards into his memory. The dream always happens last as an
end-product of this chain of events.

THE THREE EVENTS

(1. Dream, 2. Initial, 3. Previous)

1. The Dream
 Friday noon at 2.30 p.m., (the day before this meeting with me),
Vasilis goes to sleep and sees a dream: He is somewhere out in the open
(below diagram 1 - «The dream»), engaged unwillingly with somebody in a boring
and annoying conversation, when a very well dressed, aristocratic and
beautiful girl passes in front of him, clearly from left to right.
Someone whispers to him that she is 1+1, meaning that she is 11 years
old. The girl is very sad, because of some specific reasons (she has
failed some tests).
A little later he follows her up from a distance very concerned turning
first to the right after her. At first he is afraid she might follow a
«dangerous route», (still to her right) towards a sandy area, but the
girl takes a left turn at a critical point. When he, too, arrives there
he SUDDENLY realizes that it is dark. «As if I had found myself in a
dark room with lights off», he says. He turns immediately his glance to
his left and sees the «same guy» he was talking with at the beginning of
the dream,  but though at that time Vasilis had not noticed him at all,
now he sees that he is an old man with white hair who looks at him with
clear and unsuspecting eyes (no accuses for following the girl). So,
Vasilis asks him right off a direct question:
 «What did we say your name was?»
«Achilles», replies the old man, and starts relating him in detail  his
sad life. Achilles proves to be a 70 year old saint, a fanatic puritan,
who is not very happy about his sainthood and finally says to the
dreamer «You are doing very well in your life, Vasilis, because you
follow a path between fanatical purity and sexual excesses.»



2. The Initial Event
Earlier than that, (Friday 25 June '98, 1.30 p.m.), just about an hour
before going to sleep to see that dream, he was still in his office, he
was seated with other 5 co-workers, engaged unwillingly again in a
boring and annoying office conversation (below diagram 2  - «The initial
event»), when Tasoula, a beautiful young woman of 25, (looking a lot
younger as he says), wearing (for the first time in the office) a sexy
pair of tight white trousers, well ironed, passed from the corridor,
from the open door of his office, again from left to right. Vasilis
knows her for a long time and he is very fond of her, although he tries
to conceal this age unfit interest from the other co-workers (he is 47,
let's be reminded).
A little later he stood up and «followed» her to her office. There, he
stood outside the door of her office, between her office to the right
and another office to the left. The two doors were open one next to the
other. From the point he stood, if he turned his head to the right he
could see Tasoula at her desk, If he turned his head to his left he
could see another co-worker with thick white hair at his desk, with whom
he had some friendly conversations at times. So he stood at that very
strategic spot and after he exchanged a few indifferent words (to the
left) with the aged white haired co-worker in the office adjacent to the
girl's office, he turned to his right and threw at her a flirting
compliment. To that he suddenly received an unexpectant sharp comment
from an austere middle-aged (over 45) woman co-worker, who happened to
listen to him, while she was in his back (and to his right), returning
from another office across the semi-dark corridor.
This, too, frustrates and pends once more the expanding (sexual) emotion
of Vasilis even worse. He took it very badly. «That was very frustrating
indeed», he says.


3. The Previous Event
Earlier than that, the day before the dream, (on Thursday 24 June '98,
at noon), Vasilis was seated idlessly in the front yard of his home, in
his village (close to Edessa), with 4 other relatives (below diagram 3 - «The
previous event»), engaged unwillingly in a boring and annoying
conversation, when a well dressed and very beautiful young girl passed
from the street in front of them, also from left to right.  Vasilis says
that «she looked well over 17»,  but he himself also suspects that she
was younger. When she passed slightly the seated group of kins, she
turned and said a glorious «hello», to Vangeli's niece, who was seated
on his left.
Vasilis followed admiringly with his eye the departing youth to his
right, when his gaze met his uncle's austere eyes, who was seated to his
right (diagram) and slightly back. This frustrated (pending) his
expanding emotion (admiration for the little girl).
Vasilis right away tried to save the pretenses, by turning to his left,
to his young niece, who looked at him with innocent eyes, (no accuses of
any kind), and asking her «who that girl was», making it all the worse
to the rest, for showing a growing interest for such a young girl. (All
his relatives know that he is 47, unmarried, with a record of similar
sexual blunders and social frustrations, although generally very
respectable). The kins seated there are his brother (on his left), his
uncle (on his right), his aunt and niece also on his left (Diagram).
A little later he stands up and goes back to his home, behind the front
yard, following generally the directions the girl followed to go to her
home, first to the right, then to the right again, and still to the
right again into his lonely room.


FINAL SPACE-EMOTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

If we consider now the three events in the real sequence they actually
happened we can realize a lot better what happened, how and why.

1. THE PREVIOUS EVENT
(In the dull yard) - Thursday 24 June '98, at noon,
This 17 year old young girl passed airily in front of him. He followed
her with admiring eye and received an austere look by his uncle to his
right, and he found refuge in the friendly talk and innocent eye of his
niece to his left.

2 THE INITIAL EVENT
(At the dull office) - Friday 25 June '98, appr. 1.30 p.m.
Next day this 25 year old young woman in white pants passed in front of
him. He followed her to her office, complimented her, but he received a
caustic comment by this aged female co-worker to his right, and he found
refuge in the friendly talk and innocent eye of this aged co-worker with
the thick white hair to his left .

3. THE DREAM
(Sad little girl) - Friday 25 June '98, at noon, at about 2.30 p.m.
An hour later with all these pending in him he goes to sleep and sees
this «mysterious dream» as he put it. Unsuspected as he was he didn't
relate the three events. Only after this analysis he realized the
obvious: that the dream was a strict consequential end-product of the
two specific events that happened before it.
All three events share some common space-emotional and temporal ideas,
we can see in detail with an analysis of space, time and emotion.

1. Common spatial ideas
All points and places in the three events of this interpretation are so
alike that no further spatial analysis is really needed. All one needs
is to place the three diagrams one next to the other and take a look.
All the diagrams were initially drawn by Vasilis himself, as he had
corrected very carefully the dream, after reading a print-out of it.
Looking at these diagrams we see that all spatial data in the different
phases are identical. Of course I won' t deny that I drew these diagrams
with their spatial similarities underlined (e.g. in picking the
appropriate scale and some distances), but the potential to do this was
already there and it is amazing. It is obvious that from the very
begining the mind, perception and conscioussness of Vasilis worked
inductively relating every situation in spatial (first of all) relation
to each other. As it also is obvious that Vasilis is the abolute center
of all coordinates because all these events and the dream at the end
took place in his own imagination.

One «place» atop the other
Looking at these diagrams we realize that there is a lot more present in
the dream than what is visible. Actually there are spatial expanses from
actual remembered places (from «real» initial and previous events) one
atop the other so to speak, making the dream landscape multileveled. The
dream is happening as a simultaneous awareness of more than one (past)
actual places.
In other words, it seems that, as the dream proceeds, in the imagination
are simultaneously present many similar (memorial and «actual') places
one atop the other and the linear mental awareness goes form one place
(and level) to the other. As the dream proceeds and depending on the
needs of it new (similar) places from actual old (previous) events can
be added freely from memory on the single initial event that is
represented.
According to this analogy the dream happens as the cartoons were
animated by the projection of many similar transparencies one atop the
other with a slight difference every time.
According to the theory these previous memorial «transparencies» are
«projected» in the dream according to an absolute driving principle the
initial event.

2. Common action (in time)
The spatial relationships we saw rather than analyzed, concern and
actually make-up three similar general situations, but here we deal with
«events» and not situations. That's how we called them from the
beginning (events) and it was not accidental. The characteristic and
characterizing actions of the protagonists make them «events».
So the spatial comparisons of the diagrams are completed with the
temporal dimension (of the all important actions of the protagonists in
the three events).
In all of them there are two main protagonists (Vasilis and a young
female), so it is right and convenient to divide them in two parts
(phase A' and phase B'), according to the action of the female or
Vasilis. In all of them first (phase A') acts the young female (walks)
and then Vasilis follows her (Phases B').



The action in the three events in detail


PHASE A'
a. At first (in all three events) Vasilis is seated listening to some
boring and slightly annoying conversation.
b. Then (in all three events) a beautiful young female passes from left
to right.

PHASE B'
c. Then (in all three events) he follows her course from a distance.
d. Then (according to the theory) the action is alike in the initial
event and the dream, though it deviates slightly in the previous event
which happened first. Let us be reminded that the initial event provides
the pattern according to which the dream happens with pictures borrowed
form some previous event(s).
I. In the (real) previous event he goes to the right and then to the
right again to his room (following only with his fascinated mind the
rest of the course of the 17 year old girl to the left and to her home).

II. In the initial event he  follows the 25 year old young woman all the
way to her office (first turns to the right and then to the LEFT).
III. In the dream also follows the sad 11 year old girl first to the right
and then to the LEFT (after some hesitation towards the dangerous point
to the right).

e. Then the action in the initial event and the dream is still alike
(according to the theory), though again it deviates slightly from the
previous event:
I. In the previous event at this spatio-temporal moment he is in his
lonely room pondering over his blunder of looking appraisingly at the
young girl, and receiving the austere glance by his uncle.
II. In the initial event at the office he stands between the two doors,
he talks to the aged white hair co-worker to his left, compliments the
young girl to his right and receives a sudden frustrating sharp comment
by the middle-aged female co-worker.
III. In the dream nothing exists of all this at first sight. Just SUDDENLY
(how come and why so «suddenly?»), he finds himself in a dark room with
lights off.
(Note: I, the author, visited this long corridor in Vasilis office and
found out that it is really very dark, even at noon, with the sun
shinning out, because they have put some heavy furniture there and the
shutters are always closed).
So, at that exact moment in the initial event Vasilis was grounded to
reality (by the sharp comment) and he had to see directly around him,
and what he saw was the dark corridor around him. Really SUDDENLY. Up to
that moment he was not looking around him, (having vividly this white
trousered vision in the eye of his mind), and the next moment he was
forced (by the sharp comment) to look «out» and around him. First thing
he saw suddenly was the dark corridor (in the dream: «a dark room with
lights off») and then a life saver to his left: the old innocent-eyed
white haired co-worker. (in the dream: «the old innocent-eyed white
haired saint-Achilles»)
The dream skips artfully the cause (the austere comment) but all its
effects are there. Indeed both in the dream and in the initial event
there was dark around him at this point and to his left stood an old
white haired figure with innocent eyes.
The dream comes last in the row (after the initial event and the
previous event(s) of reality) and so can include selected memories of
both. During the dream all these preceding real events happen again
(recur) simultaneously as re-lived memories. The dream is a play of
Vasilis memory. In the dream he can deviate from the real initial event
to any space-emotionally suitable previous event(s) according to what is
advantageous for the best economy of the dream and his self-respect.
(Note: translating now the dream, after almost a year, I see that I
never asked Vasilis whether his own room is actually dark in any way.
E.G. with shutters closed. Especially when he went to his room after the
frustrating incident with the 17 year old girl. Most probably it is, but
I never asked).

3. Common emotions
In this dream we also have some very distinct emotions easy to locate,
since they happen at specific spatial points, after some specific
actions of the protagonists. According to the theory these emotions are
selected from all previous and the initial event according to the needs
of pacification of the emotionally disturbed soul.

The emotions in the three events
in detail

a. Mild annoyance at the beginning for having to listen to all that
boring conversation. This primary emotional state is identical in all
events, since:
I. In the dream he had to listen to this annoying and boring talk of old
«Achilles».
II. In the previous event the boring and annoying talk of his kin.
III. In the initial event the boring and annoying talk of his office
co-workers.

b. Next however the emotions are still the same only in both the (real)
initial and previous events, BUT in the dream they start turning into
their opposites, since:
I. In the initial event we have this beautiful and well dressed young
woman passing airily, causing an emotion of elation to him.
II. In the previous event also the beautiful and well dressed little girl
provokes analogous emotions.
III. BUT, in the dream the passing beautiful and aristocratic girl is
bitterly sad causing analogous negative emotions and apprehensions for
him.
In the dream that is, despite the striking spatio-temporal similarity,
we have a specific emotional diversion.
 If we consider that besides emphatically sad this female in the dream
is also emphatically young (only 11 years old, when the other female
«looked over 17» and Tasoula was 25), we understand that the dream seems
to be artfully self-restraining, because it multiplies the problem in
order to sober down and guide the soul.

c. Next, in both the initial and the previous events (of reality) we
still have this identical frustration caused by his misbehaviors, since:
I. In the initial event we have his expressed admiration for the young
woman and the frustration caused by the austere comment of the
middle-aged female co-worker.
II. In the previous event we have his expressed interest for the passing
17 year old girl and his frustration by the disapproving glance of his
uncle and the general cold atmosphere around him.
III. HOWEVER, in the dream we have no frustration BUT a deep satisfaction,
since he is praised by old saint Achilles for his well balanced overall
behavior in life! In the dream nothing is mentioned of the sharp comment
by the aged female co-worker in the initial event, neither of the
accusing glance of his uncle in the previous event. All his negative
emotions disappear along the process of the dream. Whatever negative
emotions do exist in the dream belong to... somebody else: to the sad
little girl (for having failed some tests), and the sad story of the 70
year old white haired saint-Achilles. Vailis himself only receives this
appraisal and this final satisfaction.
We can easily see that this dream is a magnificent emotional arrangement
and a correction of choices and behavior towards a positive direction.
That's exactly what a good dream should do for a dreamer.
In this analysis of ours however we only cared for the truth and this
was criss-crossed from many directions spatial, temporal and emotional.
Direct goal of the dream seems to be the emotional balance and
tranquillity. Highest goal is always a general psycho-somatic
homeostasis. This is the secret absolute driving principle governing all
spatio-temporal and emotional choices of the dream.


Some important details

Talking with Vasilis I discovered many interesting details that answer
some obvious questions one might have concerning this dream :

- Why this saint in the dream was called Achilles?
- Because Vasilis always calls «Achilles» all macho men with sexual
vigor.

- Why did he ask that man in the dream «what his name was»?
- Because Vasilis in a conversation with this old-white haired
«Achilles» co-worker in the adjacent office of the provoking young
female, he (Vasilis) actually told him that with his long white hair and
his other refined traits he looked like old Magdalene, the old saintly
bishop from the «Miserables» by Victor Hugot. From that day on, many
times when Vasilis passes from that office he calls to him jokingly:
«What did we say your name was?» It is a private joke between them.
Exactly the same question he asked him in the dream, too: «What did we
say your name was?» Of course he is not joking like that with him all
the times. Only when he sees that this (senior) white haired co-worker
is in a good mood. When he has a clear eye.

- Why in the dream this Achilles/bishop Magdalene was presented as a
white haired 70 year old puritan?

- Because at that point of the dream not only both these identities of
his (macho and bishop)were needed badly, but the dream had to do even
more. Some extreme purity was needed as a suitable answer to austere
eyes and comments accusing him of the opposite. So this man is silently
connected in the dream with a third person Vasilis knows intimately: a
white haired 70 year old priest. A few yards away from the front yard of
his home where Vasilis was seated when all these troubles started, there
is the (only) church of his village (diagrams), and the only priest in
this church is a 70 year old white haired respectable old man. That's
why exactly 70 years old was the white haired old saint in his dream.

Finally
The fair-minded reader will agree that there is a very strong logical
interrelation of the three Events in many many points. Actually, this
interpretation was not that easy at all, but it looks like a matter of
fact now, that it is over. At the beginning I just had a «mysterious»
dream to start by. If one reads the analytical presentation of all the
events, will see that everything falls in place, in every tiny detail
(also diagrams), if you know what to look for, and what to expect.

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