The Unfulfilled Desires and Symbolic Obstacles of Dreaming: Analyzing Three Dreams Involving Emilia Clarke

Part 1: Dream Presentation

Dreams often serve as a theater for our unconscious desires and anxieties, even when they involve figures we’ve only seen on screen. This collection of three interconnected dreams featuring Emilia Clarke—an actress known for her iconic role as Daenerys Targaryen—reveals a fascinating interplay of longing, frustration, and symbolic obstacles. Let’s explore each dream in detail, unpacking their psychological significance beyond the surface-level narrative of 'failed intimacy.'

During the height of Game of Thrones’ cultural dominance, I experienced three distinct dreams featuring Emilia Clarke, each unfolding with a curious blend of longing, frustration, and surreal symbolism. These dreams, though disconnected in setting, shared an undercurrent of unmet desire and symbolic obstacles that reveal fascinating layers of psychological meaning beneath their seemingly random narratives.

In the first dream, I found myself in a sun-dappled garden bathed in the golden light of King’s Landing during its final season. Emilia Clarke stood before me, her presence simultaneously familiar and alien—both the Daenerys Targaryen I’d watched on screen and a stranger entirely. When I reached for her, attempting to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality, she stepped back with a soft, otherworldly smile. “You see,” she explained, “I only lay eggs once a year.” The revelation shattered my expectations, leaving me with the absurd instruction that I simply needed to follow her wherever she went, as if my mere presence might somehow align with her mysterious, annual cycle. The dream dissolved as I trailed after her, confused and aching for a connection that had dissolved into biological confusion.

The second dream transported me to a cluttered garage bathed in late-afternoon light. Emilia’s teal 1993 Volvo sat before me, its color vivid against the gray concrete floor, but as I approached, I realized the car had transformed into a complex puzzle. Each time I attempted to fix one component—a loose wire here, a faulty brake line there—another part would fail or malfunction, like a Rubik’s cube where every solution created a new problem. The more I struggled, the more frustrated I became, until her friends—described as “hipster” in my dream—intervened. They herded me onto a bus bound for San Francisco, the windows fogged with the excitement of a city known for its bohemian spirit. The journey felt like a consolation prize, the bus lurching through rolling hills as I sat beside Emilia, the failure to connect now overshadowed by this unexpected road trip.

The third dream shifted to a simpler setting, perhaps a cozy café or a sunlit veranda. Emilia suddenly mentioned she was from Australia, her accent soft and distinct. The casualness of the statement contrasted with my previous attempts at intimacy, and without thinking, I blurted out a question that felt both absurd and deeply personal: “Do you piss upside down?” The question hung in the air, and though she didn’t respond with anger, there was a look of amused bewilderment that shattered any lingering romantic tension. The dream concluded with this awkward exchange, leaving me to puzzle over why I’d fixated on such an unusual question in my subconscious.

These three dreams, set against the backdrop of a cultural phenomenon, reveal a rich tapestry of psychological themes: idealization, frustration, and the unconscious mind’s way of processing unmet desires through symbolic obstacles.

Part 2: Clinical Analysis

Symbolic Landscape: Decoding Dream Elements

The first dream’s “laying eggs once a year” introduces a surreal biological metaphor that transcends literal interpretation. In dreamwork, eggs often symbolize potential, creation, or the feeling of being “out of sync” with life cycles—particularly relevant during a period of cultural obsession with Game of Thrones’ finale. The instruction to “follow her around” suggests a conflict between persistence and futility: the dreamer may feel compelled to pursue unattainable ideals, even when they lead to confusion rather than connection. This echoes Jungian psychology’s concept of the Anima archetype, where the dreamer projects idealized feminine qualities onto a public figure, creating a symbolic barrier between real and imagined intimacy.

The second dream’s teal Volvo as a Rubik’s cube-like puzzle introduces the theme of relationship complexity. The car, a mundane object, becomes a metaphor for emotional or romantic relationships where solutions create new problems—a common experience in unfulfilling connections. The hipster friends and San Francisco bus ride offer further symbolic layers: San Francisco’s reputation for liberalism and cultural experimentation might represent the dreamer’s desire for unconventional emotional release, while the “consolation” aspect suggests the unconscious acknowledging that direct intimacy isn’t always possible, so indirect forms of connection are sought.

The third dream’s absurd question—“Do you piss upside down?”—reveals the dreamer’s attempt to reduce complex intimacy to a physical, almost childish inquiry. This humorously crude question symbolizes the unconscious mind’s defense against vulnerability: by reducing intimacy to a bodily function, the dreamer deflects deeper emotional connection, perhaps due to fear of rejection or inadequacy. Australia, presented as her origin, introduces exoticism and distance—another layer of separation between the dreamer and the idealized figure.

Psychological Currents: Theoretical Frameworks

From a Freudian perspective, these dreams represent displaced sexual energy onto a public figure during a period of intense cultural exposure. The “failed intimacy” narrative is classic displacement: the unconscious transforms unmet romantic desires into a dream where the obstacle is external (the eggs, the car, the question) rather than internal, allowing the dreamer to avoid confronting real-life intimacy fears directly. This aligns with Freud’s theory of dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious,” where repressed desires manifest symbolically.

Jungian analysis offers complementary insights, framing Emilia Clarke as the Anima archetype—the internalized feminine ideal. The three dreams represent different aspects of this archetype: the first as untouchable creation (eggs), the second as complex relationship dynamics (Rubik’s cube), and the third as the absurdity of reducing intimacy to physicality (pissing upside down). Jung would view these as synchronicities, three related dreams processing the same underlying psychological theme: the tension between idealization and real connection.

Cognitive neuroscience adds another dimension: the dreams activate memory networks related to Game of Thrones fandom, merging real-world cultural exposure with unconscious processing. The “failure to connect” might reflect REM sleep’s emotional processing, where the brain integrates waking anxieties about intimacy into surreal narratives—explaining the shift from Daenerys’ dragon-riding persona to the absurd egg-laying scenario.

Emotional & Life Context: Unpacking the Subtext

The timing of these dreams during Game of Thrones’ peak popularity suggests the dreamer was deeply immersed in a cultural phenomenon, creating a temporary idealization of the show’s characters. This fandom experience often involves projecting personal desires onto fictional figures, especially when the show’s narrative centers on romantic and power struggles. The “failed intimacy” across three dreams may mirror waking life experiences of unmet expectations in relationships—whether romantic, social, or professional.

The recurring “failure” theme hints at deeper emotional patterns: the dreamer might struggle with feelings of inadequacy in intimate contexts, where direct connection feels impossible. The Rubik’s cube car symbolizes the frustration of trying to “solve” relationships without success, while the bus journey to San Francisco represents the unconscious seeking alternative forms of validation when direct connection fails.

Therapeutic Insights: Practical Takeaways

These dreams offer valuable self-reflection opportunities. The first dream urges the dreamer to recognize when idealization (of a public figure or relationship) creates unnecessary barriers. Journaling about specific moments when “following” an ideal leads to confusion could reveal patterns of persistence in unfulfilling relationships.

The second dream’s puzzle car suggests the need to break down complex emotional problems into manageable parts. Cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques like relationship mapping—identifying what works and what breaks in relationships—could help transform the “Rubik’s cube” feeling into actionable steps.

The third dream’s absurd question highlights the importance of humor in emotional processing. Laughing at the dream’s crudeness might reduce the anxiety around vulnerability, allowing the dreamer to approach real intimacy with more lightness rather than pressure.

FAQ Section

Q: Why did the dreamer fixate on Emilia Clarke specifically? A: The dreamer likely idealized her as the Anima archetype, projecting romantic and creative ideals onto a public figure during a period of intense cultural exposure.

Q: What does the “pissing upside down” question symbolize? A: This absurd question represents the unconscious deflecting vulnerability by reducing intimacy to physicality, a common defense mechanism against emotional exposure.

Q: How do the three dreams connect thematically? A: Together, they process the tension between idealized connection (eggs, Volvo) and real intimacy, using symbolic obstacles to avoid confronting deeper fears of inadequacy or rejection.