ABSTRACT
The publication of "Creative Writers and Day-dreaming" was a landmark in the application of psychoanalysis to culture. The paper deals with the wish-fulfilling functions of fantasy, and Sigmund Freud indicated that the wish-fulfilling character of dreams could have been derived from the similarity of dream and daydream. Considering the characteristics of daydreams and how the artist softens the character of his daydreams by altering and disguising them, Freud also introduced the dimension of defense. Daydreams are characterized by conscious wishes and defenses, and the paper may be regarded as an introduction to the study of conflict and compromise formation. Freud noted that the source of artistic creation may be found in fantasy and also that collective or shared fantasies could be found in the common fairy tales of childhood and in the myths and legends of nations. These fantasies, especially those associated with repressed wishes, could be found in the underlying symptoms and personality disorders of neurotics.
