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In the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHO-ANALYSIS, Vol. VIII, 1927, Ernest Jones tries to explain the meaning of mantle symbolism and comes to the conclusion that the mantle symbolizes the penis, occurring more in the dreams of men than in the dreams of women, He stresses two points as proof. The first point is that the mantle is that part of the person's clothing which is most easily detachable, and the second point is the similarity between the ease with which the arms can slip into and out of an overcoat and the mobility of the penis-covering skin. In both points the castration fear is also included.
Jones' contribution clarifies Freud's first interpretation, in which the phonetic resemblance between man and mantle was the key to the explanation.2
In spite of the acceptance and proof of this interpretation, we are still left with uncertainties when it comes to an explanation. Recently I had the opportunity of hearing several dreams from various patients which dealt with the mantle symbol, and these dreams, together with the associations to them, seemed to give a more definite connection between penis and coat, if we regard the coat in its fundamental usage