Cindy Ghanie
Professor Von Uhl/ Professor Yankwitt
FIQWS HA9
28 October 2021
Freud’s Dream Work in “A Country Doctor”
In the third of Sigmund Freud’s five lectures, he discusses the psychoanalytic concepts about the layers dreams play in our minds. Certain experiences and texts validate Freud’s claims about the dreamwork. “A Country Doctor” by William Kafka displays several facets of the Freudian concept of dreamwork, including manifest content and latent content, which Kafka uses to express the desires of the protagonist.
The manifest content provides the imagery needed in order to decipher the deeper meaning of the story. Before leaving his own estate to visit a patient in need of his help, he is already faced with a difficult decision. Strapped for time caused by the death of his own horse, the doctor is forced to borrow a horse from someone who threatens the safety of his servant, Rose (Kafka 1). Placing the doctor in this situation demonstrates how he struggles with his feelings for Rose, since he does not wish to endanger her but also needs to get to the patient. Although he refuses to leave without knowing she is safe, the groom in charge of the horses gives them the signal to leave, and the horses take off with the doctor. This further emphasizes the doctor’s lack of control over protecting someone he cares for. Unable to save Rose, the doctor sets out to save the patient. After first glance he finds no issue, but upon closer inspection, finds a large infested wound (Kafka 3). Despite the doctor’s wishes, he is once again powerless, this time against the wound, and determines that the patient is beyond saving. Feeling downtrodden and guilty, the doctor takes his leave completely naked and departs at a much slower pace than his arrival (Kafka 4). The manifest content of the story portrays the doctor’s desire as one of saving those who he cares about, both Rose and the patient. The manifest content is able to illustrate his failure in saving either person and his guilt after it is all over.
Underneath the seemingly random and unusual events of “A Country Doctor” lies the true meaning of the manifest content. The latent content of this dream would be the doctor’s desire to help those close to him, specifically Rose, but his inability to do so due to his increasing age. The horses he was forced to borrow from the strange groom are representative of youth. His own horses have died the night before and this young man is able to produce two very strong and healthy horses (Kafka 1). This would be the first illustration of his helplessness, as he is unable to complete the task of going to his job without depending on the help of someone younger. Knowing the danger that the man poses to Rose, the doctor still leaves her with him. Upon arriving at the patient’s bedside, the doctor discovers a large wound in the patient’s side and describes it as “rose-red” and a “blossom in your side” with an infestation of worms as well (Kafka 3). Kafka’s decision to illustrate the wound with words reminiscent of flowers could be representative of the doctor’s servant, Rose. The groom who gave him the horses are displayed as the worms, and the wound entirely is a metaphor for the groom raping Rose. The doctor’s failure to protect Rose now expresses itself in a physical form on someone who, as a doctor, he should be able to save. But due to the wound’s relation to Rose’s safety and experience, the doctor was never going to be able to save the patient either. Unable to save both the patient and Rose, the doctor inevitably leaves the house, naked and feeling vulnerable, for he left Rose to the devices of this dangerous man and he is now forced to remedy his burdened mind. The latent content displays Rose with more significance than the patient, since the wound on the patient refers to Rose. The doctor’s idea of being able to save someone he cares for revolves almost entirely around Rose. The doctor’s failure to save Rose stems from his fear that his age will be the reason she does not accept his true romantic feelings for her. He is scared that at his age he will not be able to satisfy her, and this fear can be seen when he must depend on someone younger than he for help and when Rose is left alone with the groom.
“A Country Doctor” illustrates the layers of dreamwork needed to assess the protagonist’s desires. The manifest content and latent content not only help to move the story along but also display Freud’s psychoanalytic concepts. Freud’s observations and theories allow us to look at not only texts, but ourselves in a new light.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz, et al. “A Country Doctor”. Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (Modern Library). Reissue, Modern Library, 1993, bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/CTY01_FIQWS_10008_HA8_1219_1/A%20Country%20Doctor.pdf
