ABSTRACT
A patient who has the habit of looking under her bed at night lest a robber be concealed there forgot one night to carry out this precautionary measure. That night she dreamt that she was followed by a young man and threatened with a knife. From the dream the associations led to infantile sexual experiences on the one hand, and on the other to a phantasy that occurred before falling asleep. This usually very prudish patient permitted herself to imagine sexual scenes between herself and a companion of her girlhood. One can assume that the intermission of the examination of the room served the purpose of allowing this phantasy—although disfigured by anxiety—to be further elaborated during the night—since the ‘robber’ had not been looked for, the thought of him could the more readily ‘disturb’ the patient’s sleep.
