A scene’s emotional tone, not its image, determines dream meaning

Evidence

Well, dreams are a very important component. I realised that it is not simply the image you present yourself with, in a dream, which is important – it’s also the emotional tone of the scene. You can see a cloud, but this will be accompanied by a sense of wonder or by a sense of dread, and it is that accompaniment which determines its meaning. — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life, 434

Categorization

• CANDY: A crisp statement worth repeating: in dreams the cloud means nothing without its accompanying dread or wonder.
• XREF: connects to: Childhood emotional tones get reapplied to adult situations — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life: Writings on…, 436; Memory, fantasy, and perception all depend on the emotions — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections from…, 150; Klages defined the dream mood through passivity, felt distance, and fleetingness — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 815

Broader Connections

• Klages defined the dream mood through passivity, felt distance, and fleetingness #expands (0.75) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 815
• Memory, fantasy, and perception all depend on the emotions #expands (0.72) — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 150