The defenses operating in hypnosis are compared with their counterparts in sleep and in the transference. The hypnotist acquires his authority by voicing the wishes of the 'compliant' subject; his commands are interpreted or misinterpreted accordingly. A comparison of hypnotically induced dreams with subsequent spontaneous dreams reveals the latent negative feelings that are obscured during hypnosis. The good hypnotist is introjected, the bad hypnotist projected. A study of the imagery of the hypnotic dream shows dominant preconscious