Analysis for Alex Caldwell, 23 September 2000

This is how you described the room:

The room is cold, with winter sunlight coming in through a window behind me. The floor is hard and bare, and the furnishings sit geometric and inert, their purposes not clear. A cubic table is brown, a beige chair is shaped like a pyramid. The room reminds me of the room I had when I was two years old.

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. A very uncomfortable room suggests a highly traumatic childhood. Few, simple furnishings tells us that the subject has few memories of that time. The geometric furnishings could be indicative of a highly structured (and very restrictive) childhood.

You wanted to stay in the room.

The subject did not want to grow up.

This is how you described the forest:

The forest is immense and silent. It is early evening, and the trees are dark against the sky. The trees are relatives of the maple, overgrown and fat, shelved with mushrooms. Cedars and wild shrubs, hawthorns and rowans grow between the larger trees.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Tall trees imply that the adults had a strong influence on the subject.

This is how you described the path:

Thick undergrowth of ferns and ivy tangle together over the muddy, indistinct trail. Rotting logs lie across it, red pine needles cushion it, and although many people use the path (the forest seems like a provincial park), it doesn't show much wear. It could have been cut last month.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. Poor visibility of the path tells us the subject was often confused by the changes brought on by adolescence. 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 plants are the major source of obstructions tells us that the subject’s problems arose mostly from interactions with adults.

This is how you described the water:

The creek is fast and splashing. It is shallow, white-foamed, and it catches the light. There area many rocks in the water, sharp and smooth, and little tadpoles in the water. Rocks slick with slime stick out of the banks of the creek.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Fast-moving water indicates a strong, active sex drive. Clear water tells us that the subject has no issues regarding sex. The presence of life in or around the water indicates a strong desire for children.

When you came to the water, you went around it.

The subject is not interested in new sexual experiences.

This is how you described the cup:

It is narrow, almost like a vase, made of tarnished brass. There is a handle on one side, and the vessel is potbellied near the bottom. Dirt is caked onto the bottom of the flask.

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 took the cup and filled it.

The subject is interested in marriage, and sex will be a significant part of that relationship.

This is how you described the key:

The key is old-fashioned, with a large head and a long shaft. It is worn and old, with the remains of a label scratched off. I think that it unlocks a chest or a box.

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. Old-fashioned keys suggest that the subject desires a traditional career.

You avoided the bear.

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

When you came to the wall, you turned around and walked back along the path.

The wall represents death: by avoiding it altogether, the subject shows complete denial about the possibility of death.