Autopsy of a Marriage
Dreamer: Joyce, 35, American
My dream took place in like a training room, or a class room type setting. There are round tables set up, and everyone is sitting around in a discussion. Half of the people in the room are people that I know and/or have known in the past. To the left of my table is a kitchen area with an "accordion" type doorway that slides open and closed. In the kitchen is a refrigerator. On top of the refrigerator is a hook, used for hanging items such as a garbage bag.
The woman in my dream, Gina, was the woman in charge of watching the kids that were there, while the parents were in the training class. She walks into the training room because the class was over, and I asked her where my son, Jimmy was. She responded that Jimmy was walking with another little boy to go somewhere. A while later, I began asking if anyone had seen Jimmy, and nobody knew where he was. We got up to look for him, and were walking down this long hallway. I ran into this one guy if he had seen my son, and he said that he had seen Jimmy with an older man. We continued looking for him, and we found his backpack outside. Then, everyone was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay, because I was getting very upset by this point. They brought me back to the training room and told me to stay there in case he came back looking for me. Then, some man (I don't remember who) opened the sliding door into the kitchen area, and there was a trash bag hanging from the hook on the refrigerator. We immediately went over to the bag, took it down and opened it.
Inside was Jimmy. He was naked, with whip marks on him and his body was twitching. They thought he was still alive but he wasn't. His face was a pale-is blue color, and I could see the vein in his forehead.
All of a sudden, I was transported to where the autopsy was being done.
He was not sexually molested or anything like that. The examiner mentioned the whip marks and that he was unconscious when he was placed in the bag. Being in the bag caused him to suffocate. From there, I remember being outside, running, where I came to this old man. I found out that this old man was the one that did this to Jimmy. Then, the next thing I know, two older men that I didn't know grabbed me and they put me in a room. Somehow or another, I had a knife. One of the older men was close to me, and I was able to stab him in the back, before the other guy tried to rape me. Then, I remember climbing out of a window and running. Next, there were people looking for me to take me in for questioning to find out what happened. Then, some young guy who was with me in the training class. He said, "Come on. I got your car. Let's get out of here!" The next thing I remember was that I got away and I woke up crying and very panicky. Then I went to go check that
Jimmy was in his room. He was. He and his sister then slept with me the rest of the night.
My current situation is that I am going through a divorce, if that assists with the interpretation.
Mr. Hagen's Reply: Autopsy of a Marriage
Domestic Psychological Violence: Autopsy of a Marriage
In your dream as if in a crime scene investigation, you are transported to where an autopsy is being done. The definition of autopsy is to determine the cause of death by performing a post-mortem examination. The metaphoric object which the examination is evidently being carried out on is your marriage as it relates to your children.
It's unfortunate how children get caught in the middle of partnership/marriage issues. As is common in domestic issues, your divorce seems to have been placed into your public forum. People may be taking sides. The rhetorical conflict seems to have verbally escalated to threats of violence and physical/verbal abuse. Your son seems to be caught in the middle of this psychological battle and he seems to be "mortified"/depressed by all the happenings. The film Kramer vs Kramer (see video trailer) dramatizes the conflicts when couples separate. Your dream seems to indicate that much of the battle is on a subconscious level (your son was placed in the body bag unconscious).
From a different perspective you seem to be afraid that you could lose your son, perhaps in a custody and access battle? Under the motto "all's fair in love and war", children usually become the real losers. I think for all sides involved, it is always important to think of the best interests of the child(ren).
Hope these thoughts are of help and provide some insight,
Mark H.