On Dreams

Freud's major work, The Interpretation of Dreams (Die Traumdeutung, 1900a), was published in November of 1899, and he was disappointed that the book initially met with little success. His friend Wilhelm Fliess suggested that he publish a more easily-accessible, abridged version, but Freud resisted the idea, as he was already working on The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901b). However, he soon got to work on the project, which he considered to be strictly utilitarian drudgery. The essay appeared in 1901.