Analysis for Mr. ?, 13 July 1999

This is how you described the room:

The room is warm with the walls painted a pastel sky blue. There is a white sofa bed and a dark mahogany desk, above which hangs an 300 year old framed diagram of shipbuilding. All paintings are of boats or the sea. The desk is cluttered, and some of the drawers do not have handles anymore. The carpeting is dark, hiding all manner of spills and dirt except the white mote particles.

The initial room is the subject’s childhood. What interests us here is the general atmosphere of the room, in addition to the level of furnishings described by the subject. Note the extremely inviting surroundings of the room. This suggests a childhood filled with joy. The significant detail in the description of the room tells us that the subject has rich, lasting memories of childhood.

You wanted to stay in the room.

The subject did not want to grow up.

This is how you described the forest:

It is a bright forest with an even mixture of large old trees and thin young ones. Sunlight streams in through the summer foliage. In the distance, a small stream makes a tiny waterfall as it carries leaves along with it's current. If you focus your eyes just right, you can make out tiny bugs floating and flying inches from your face.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Average-sized trees imply the normal influence adults have on a child: neither insignificant nor impressive. A well-lit forest tells us that the subject had considerable freedom at this time.

This is how you described the path:

Dandelions grow along a thin trail that the birds and squirrels look down upon and avoid. It is not too overgrown, showing that children have ran along it's length with some frequency. They might also be responsible for the occasional piece of trash, a bottle or a cigarette stub, lying off to either sides.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. The visibility of the path tells us that the subject had a good idea of what to expect from adolescence. A narrow path suggests that the subject had limited options for emotional growth at this time. The strong evidence of fellow travelers tells us that the subject received a lot of support from friends and family during that potentially troubling time. That the path is free of obstructions indicates that the subject had no problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

It is a small stream. I do not know where it's source lies, but it's only about a foot and a half wide. Bits of plants and dirt float and swirl where eddies occur. A small waterfall makes gentle splashing sounds.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). The movement of the water suggests a normal, average if somewhat playful sex drive. Murky, dirty, or otherwise unclear water suggests that the subject has significant issues regarding sex.

When you came to the water, you crossed it.

The subject is open to new sexual experiences.

This is how you described the cup:

It is only an empty plastic soda bottle, half embedded in the dirt. There is no more liquid in the open bottle and the cap seems nowhere to be found.

The vessel, or specifically the practicality of the vessel, is how the subject approaches marriage or bonding. A practical container indicates that the subject is pragmatic when it comes to questions of marriage.

You left the cup behind.

The subject is not interested in marriage.

This is how you described the key:

A rusty key, caked with dirt. It was found when I kicked a large rock over and it was underneath. There is a house nearby, so it may be an emergency key, left there incase the owner is missing their house key.

The key is the ideal career for the subject. What interests us here is how the key appears (representing how others view the career) and what it may open (representing the subject’s goals for the career). Having the key open a house, car, or other commonplace use tells us that the subject has no extraordinary expectations about a career. An ordinary-looking key suggests that the subject desires a nondescript career. Since it’s an emergency, fallback key, it may be that the subject expects fulfillment from other aspects of life, but should they disappoint the career is expected to be able to provide some meaning for life.

You avoided the bear.

In a crisis, the subject prefers the indirect, non-confrontational approach.

When you came to the wall, you tried to go around it.

The wall represents death: by trying to walk around it, the subject shows an acknowledgment of death, but also a need for an alternative to its finality, such as an afterlife or reincarnation.