Man and His Symbols

Jacobi explains that Henry was in a state of conflict, and the themes which occurred in his initial dream appeared in other forms. Jacobi recounts the fourth dream Henry shared, in which he participates in a long-distance race during military service. Henry explained that this was a recurring dream, and the trail was extremely familiar to him. It traced along a riverbank and a female figure followed along the other side of it. Henry asks for directions to find the road, but rather than finding the road as usual, he instead ends up in a forest. He sees a doe who runs off, and then turns and sees “three strange creatures, half pig, half dog, with the legs of a kangaroo” (240). He speculates they are people in costume and recalls his experience of dressing as a donkey as a child. Jacobi notes the similarities between this and the initial dream, including the mysterious female, the long distance to traverse, and the urge to undertake the journey alone until he becomes lost and requires help. She details the potential symbolic meaning of each image in Henry’s dream.

The next dream Jacobi describes is one in which Henry dreamt he was in a sailboat and tasked with holding a rope to keep a mast fastened.