The dream about Irma's injection was the first one that Freud subjected to a thorough analysis. Grunert attempts to push the elucidation of this 'initial dream of psychoanalysis' beyond the interpretive limits set by Freud himself. He relates the sexual components of the dream, which Freud toned down, to the intricate family relationships among the dramatis personae of Freud's early childhood. His particular relationships with his mother and father shed light

on the sources of Freud's will to 'uniqueness' and on his ambivalent attitude toward women.