ABSTRACT
Although make-believe play is the most important manifestation of “symbolic thought” in the child, it is not identical with it, and in order to have a complete picture of the development of the symbol and the mental image we must examine the question of the “unconscious” symbol, i.e., the child’s dreams, and also a certain ludic symbolism which is less conscious than that of ordinary make-believe and which we shall call “secondary symbolism.” A whole volume would be needed to deal fully with these vast problems, which involve the whole question of psycho-analysis. We shall confine ourselves here to a few indications only, those which are necessary for the achievement of the theoretical aim of this book.
