Biography is meaningful mainly in relation to the understanding of character. The interpretation of character rests in turn on the study of inner motivations and conflicts. Psychoanalytic theory can be used to understand the writer's imagery as expressed in his works. As a projective technique, it can give us rewarding insight into his history, personality, and creative processes. We assume the imagery, as in the manifest content of a dream, to be based on his particular experiences.

The writer who has left extensive written records of his imaginings and thoughts is most suitable for analysis by this method. The records are used like free associations. Particular attention should be paid to repetitive preoccupation